This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, Sept. 19, 2005, at 2:45 a.m. ET shows clouds associated with Tropical Storm Rita approaching the southern Bahamas.
This satellite image made available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Rita near the Bahamas islands at 7:45 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 19, 2005.
In this satellite image from NOAA taken Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 12:15 p.m. ET, Hurricane Rita is seen south of Florida moving northwest.
In this satellite image from NOAA taken Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 1:15 p.m. ET, Hurricane Rita is seen south of Florida moving northwest.
This image provided by NASA's MODIS Rapid Response Team Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005, shows hurricane Rita as it passed between the Florida Keys and Cuba. The image was collected at 2:45 p.m. ET Tuesday.
In this satellite image from NOAA taken Sept. 20 at 4:55 p.m. ET, Hurricane Rita is seen south of Florida moving northwest.
This satellite image provided by NOAA and taken at 6:45 p.m. ET Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005, shows Hurricane Rita over the Gulf of Mexico.
This image provide by NOAA shows Hurricane Rita collected at 3:45 a.m. ET Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. At 5 a.m. ET, the center of Hurricane Rita was located about 175 miles west of Key West Florida and about 160 miles west-northwest of Havana Cuba. Rita was moving toward the west near 14 mph and this general motion was expected to continue for the next 24 hours.
In this satellite image from NOAA taken Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 11:45 a.m. ET, Hurricane Rita is shown in the Gulf of Mexico, southwest of Florida, heading towards the Texas coast.
This satellite image taken by NASA's MODIS Rapid Response System at 12:10 p.m. ET Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005, shows Hurricane Rita over the Gulf of Mexico. Gaining strength with frightening speed, Hurricane Rita swirled toward the Gulf Coast a Category 5, 165-mph monster Wednesday as more than 1.3 million people in Texas and Louisiana were sent packing on orders from authorities who learned a bitter lesson from Katrina.
This infrared satellite image provided by NOAA and taken at 9:45 p.m. ET Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005 shows Hurricane Rita over the Gulf of Mexico.
This infrared satellite image provided by NOAA and taken at 8:45 p.m. ET Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005 shows Hurricane Rita over the Gulf of Mexico.
This image provided by NOAA was collected at 11:25 p.m. ET Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005. At 11 p.m. ET, Rita was centered about 350 miles southeast of Galveston and was moving at near 10 mph. Its winds were 140 mph, down from 175 mph earlier in the day.
This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 at 2:45 a.m. ET shows Hurricane Rita approaching the Texas/Louisiana coastline as a Category 4 storm.
Satellite Image from NASA, captured this image of Hurricane Rita as it started making landfall on the Gulf Coast on Sept. 23, 2005.
This infrared satellite image, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows the eye of Hurricane Rita coming ashore between Sabine Pass and Johnson's Bayou on the southwest Louisiana Gulf coast at 3:30 a.m. ET, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005, according to the National Hurricane Center.
This image provided by NOAA was collectd at 7:25 a.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 25, 2005 showing Hurricane Rita after it came ashore. Rita made landfall at 3:30 a.m. ET as a Category 3 storm just east of Sabine Pass, on the Texas-Louisiana line, bringing a 20-foot storm surge and up to 25 inches of rain, the National Hurricane Center said.
This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005 at 2:15 p.m. ET shows clouds associated with weakening tropical system Rita over eastern Texas.
This NOAA satellite image taken Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 at 2:15 p.m. ET shows clouds over much of the East associated with heavy precipitation over much of the Mississippi Valley. The remnants of Rita can be seen over the lower Mississippi Valley clouds associated with a front can be seen moving through the Great Lakes.
This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at 2:45 a.m. ET shows significant cloud coverage over much of the far eastern U.S. The remnants of Hurricane Rita can be seen over the Southeast, while clouds from another system can be seen farther to the north.