Rita leaving warmer waters now ...

[BReb]

the recent erratic eyewall shapes coincide with Rita leaving the warmer waters- all cooler waters from here on out:

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dataphod1 ... 5262go.jpg

She's been pretty careful to ride those loop currents this far, give her credit for that, but the gravy train of warmer waters is over. Now she's in cooler waters and in a several hours she'll be in even cooler waters.

[jrod]

This graphic still shows warm waters ahead of Rita.

[BReb]

That shows surface temps- the one I used shows total heat content of the water, which I believe to be more accurate when it comes to effecting hurricanes. Remember how many times we've seen hurricanes peter out when they reach the shallow waters of the coast, even though the waters there are warm on the surface? There still isn't as much heat/fuel in there.

[jojo]

She looks to be regrouping and strengthening again judging by the latest sat

[wxwatcher2]

Rumor has it they've dropped some bags of ice in front of the hurricane in order to cool the water even more.

Seriously, lets pray for a rapid rise in pressure and a drop in winds.