Absolutely amazing.

Most of the 87 tornado warnings since 12 noon, CDT, in connection with Rita.

A bunch ofd warnings out of the NWS Jackson office because of tornadoes over West Mississippi

Thanks to Rita some parts of Alabama received beneficial rains this afternoon and this evening. The heaviest amounts were over the SW and West Central Kansas.

At 8:50 pm, there were some scattered light showers from the Greater Birmingham area and into NW Alabama.

The heavier showers were over the SW part of the state.

Everything moving NW.

A good chance of showers and thunderstorms Sunday and Monday.

Lots of places need rain.

From National Weather Service, Jackson

A TORNADO WAS SPOTTED AND PHOTOGRAPHED NEAR THE LAMONT
COMMUNITY. IT MOVED INTO EXTREME SW BOLIVAR COUNTY AT 310
PM AND MOVED AT LEAST 4 MILES TO THE NW. THIS TORNADO
MOVED THROUGH AN OPEN FIELD AND CAUSED NO KNOWN DAMAGE.

0503 PM TORNADO 4 ENE SHAW 33.62N 90.71W
09/24/2005 BOLIVAR MS EMERGENCY MNGR

A TORNADO PATH BEGAN ON SANDPIT RD AND MOVED NW TO NEAR
BOYLE AND THEN TO SOMEWHERE W OF CLEVELAND. SEVERAL
MOBILE HOMES WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED ALONG WITH NUMEROUS
TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.

Tropical Storm Rita was centered tonight near Shreveport and moving north at 11 mph. Just a matter of time until she will be downgraded to a depression.

Sustained winds down to 40 mph.

24 HOUR RAINFALL
5.47 inches in Shreveport
3.34 in Monroe
4.80 in Lafayette
7.12 in Baton Rouge
1.30 at New Orleans International Airport

MORE REPORTS FROM SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

CAMERON PARISH
.....5 feet of water and debris over Highway 27 near Gibbstown Bridge

CALCASIEU PARISH
.....Significant flooding along the Lake Charles lakefront.
.....4-6 feet of water in the Lake Charles Civic Center
.....6-foot storm surge at Contraband Bayou with water into second floor of the inn

ST. MARY PARISH
.....Deep water near Burns Point
.....Cypremort Point is flooded
.....Flooding also in Morgan City area

IBERIA PARISH
.....Water 4 to 5 feet deep over the parish south of Highway 14 and south of U.S. 90
.....Storm surge in excess of 10 feet with rooftop rescues underway

Inland flooding will become a real problem with Rita with extremely heavy rainfall expected over West Louisiana, East and NE Texas and Southern Arkansas.

.....She was centered about 25 miles SSW of Shreveport, moving north at 12 mph.
.....Will weaken further to a tropical depression tonight
.....Tropical depressions can also dump tons of rain
.....She will move north, slow down, and then gradually curve toward the east.
.....Official track forecast sends her to Shreveport, then eastward to Little Rock.
.....To near Memphis by midday Monday
.....Then curving SE into NE Mississippi near Tupelo by mid-day Thursday.
.....Now that will be very, very interesting as they used to say on Laugh-in (do you remember that whacky TV program)
.....all along this track, she will dump a whole bunch of rain (as my young daughter used to say)
.....Look for some serious inland flooding.

LATE AFTERNOON SPOT REPORTS
New Orleans...rain, wind south 29, gusts 39
Baton Rouge...cloudy, wind SE 26, gusts 35
Lafayette...cloudy, wind south 26, gusts 43
Alexandra...rain, wind south 29, gusts 43
Shreveport...heavy rain, wind east 24, gusts 36
Texarkana...rain, wind NE 29, gusts 40

FLASH FLOODING
.....Numerous roads underwater in the Shreveport area and other parts of NW Louisiana.
.....Shreveport Airport has been reporting heavy rain for hours.
.....Rainfall of 8.46 inches had already accumulated at Center by 1:30 this afternoon and heavy rainhas continued most of the time since then.

(Scan down for other recent posts including an Alabama update and reports of serious tornadoes in West and NW Missippi)

It happened this afternoon in West Mississippi some 45 miles NNW of Jackson. This is what we know so far:

.....Extensive damage to two subdivisions in Belzoni with numerous injuries.
.....One fatality
.....Five mobile homes damaged including two destroyed one mile east of Greenville, Miss., which is west of Belzoni.
.....Extensive damage to Jockey Manafacturing Plant near Highway 49 just west of Belzoni.

More information as we get it

Rita is responsible for those showers and thunderstorms swinging NW through Central and West Alabama.

.....Radar estimates show as much as 1.40 inches of rain in Wilcox County in West Alabama
.....As much as one inch in South Hale County

As of 5:30 pm, showers have worked their way as far north as Perry, Bibb, Pickens, Fayette, Lamar and to near the Tuscaloosa/Jeffereson County line.

Moving NW

(Scan down to see report of serious tornado damage in West Mississippi including a fatality and a number of injuries)

A spinoff tornado caused by Tropical Storm Rita has touched down in West Central Mississippi causing major damage in Humphreys County.

Specifically, it struck just west of the town of Belzoni which is about 45 air miles NNW of Jackson.

The NWS in Jackson checked with officials in Belzoni. They report major damage to the Jockey Manufacturing Plant near Highway 49 just west of Belzoni.

The circulation around Tropical Storm Rita is so broad that spiral bands on the outer edges is bringing several rows of showers and thunderstorms into Central and SouthAlabama.

At 3:25 pm, some of those had advanced as far north as Greene and Hale County in West Central Alabama and to near the south edge pf Shelby County in Central Alabama.

She is no longer a hurricane.

Rita is now a tropical storm.

LOCATION: Near Latitude 31.6 North, Longitude 92.4 West. Translation: Between Lufkin, Texas and Shreveport. Sustained winds down to 65 mph. It is important to note that tropical storm force winds extend outhward an amazing 140 miles from the center! Trees continue to fall in East Texas and Louisiana.

Rita continues to move north. Because of her, it is windy all the way from Alabama into Central Texas.

Rita's slow movement will allow 10 to 15 inch rainfall amounts over:
.....East Texas
.....West Louisiana
.....South Arkansas

Indeed, some spots may get 25 inch amounts! Even a 4th grader knows what happens then.
Even New Orleans could get an additional 3 to 5 inches.

TORNADO WATCH
It goes until 9 pm, CDT and covers:
.....SE Arkansas
.....East half of Louisiana
.....Almost all of Mississippi

RECENT DAMAGE REPORTS
.....Trees down just before noon in Jefferson County, Mississippi
.....Tress and power lines down all across the city of Shreveport

THE ALABAMA STORY AT 1:35 PM CDT
Showers and some thunderstorms continue to march toward the north and NW from South and SW Alabama. Some locally heavy showers now as far north as the SW part of Marengo County and south of Livingston in Sumter County.