Weatherwatch: September 2005

摘要

Hurricane Rita became the year's second major hurricane to make a Louisiana landfall, blasting ashore before dawn on September 24 in sparsely populated Cameron Parish with maximum sustained winds near 120 mph and a storm surge in excess of 10 feet. The Category 3 hurricane caused significant property damage across easternmost Texas and southern and western Louisiana. More than a week earlier, Category 1 Hurricane Ophelia had grazed North Carolina's Outer Banks on the 14th-15th, primarily buffeting coastal areas with high winds, heavy rain, and pounding surf. Outside the tropical realm, unusually dry weather prevailed during September across the majority of the Plains and the East, while rainy conditions plagued the upper Midwest. Elsewhere, much-needed precipitation arrived at month's end in the Northwest.