Having just gone through this with Rita my advice is have a PLAN in place as soon as your area is in the cone. Just know where
you will go, have the car gassed up, and all of your supplies ready. I knew Rita would impact Texas from early on
(thanks to HankFrank) although I thought it would be
around Galveston. On Wednesday it was Matagorda Bay but by 1:00 in the morning on Thursday it was Galveston. On Thursday
morning it was Crystal Beach and a mandatory evacuation was ordered (we were already
under a voluntary evacuation from Wednesday). By Thursday evening they were saying Port Arthur/Beaumont
and then on Friday the TX/La border ( we are not that far from the border). The storm came in east of Sabine Pass, TX in Creole, LA.
Rita's eyewall battered Beaumont. So, I guess my point is have your PLAN way ahead of time and you can always cancel
reservations,etc. if the storm goes somewhere else.