Just after passing the florida keys, the storm reached a very strong catagory 2, heading westward into the gulf of mexico.

The most recent hurricane advisory from the tracking center suggests it's heading towards texas (right in the middle) and is now a stron catagory 2 and likely to get stronger over the warm gulf waters.

There is talk on news sites of the possibility that Rita could easily reach 4 or 5, and there is a distinct but uncertain possibility that even though the hurricane is incredbly unlikely to hit louisianna head on, there could be a moderate storm surge - unfortunately the Mayor of new orleans is quoted as citung expert advice that their levvies are only in a good enough state to handle a stor surge of up to three feet. This is of course speculation at the moment, as Hurricanes can be un-predictable. It's entirely possible it could hit Mexico instead.

If you happen to live in Texas, Louisianna, or Mexico, You might like to keep an eye out for this one. It doesn't look like it's going to be nice.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ - national hurricane center.

Cat 4 storm now.

I'm going to Mexico on a school linking project at the end of October, I severly hope it doesn't hit Mexico, but I hope it doesn't hit the US either. Hasn't USA suffered enough already?

If it did hit mexico now, it would be the very north tip. It's almost certain to hit Texas now, straight down the middle