Hurricane Rita tornado outbreak
From September 24–26, 2005, a significant tornado outbreak and severe weather event resulting from the remnants of Hurricane Rita dropped 98 tornadoes over Louisiana and Mississippi, killing one person. The event was the fourth-largest tornado outbreak caused by a tropical cyclone in recorded history. After the hurricane made landfall on the extreme southwestern coast of Louisiana on September 24, the tropical cyclone's strong rainbands affected much of the West South Central and East South Central States, producing heavy rainfall in addition to numerous tornadoes. Tornadic activity was distributed roughly evenly from September 24–25, though activity shifted slightly eastward on September 25. The severe activity ended by September 26, by which time the remnants of Hurricane Rita were absorbed by a frontal boundary.
As a result of Hurricane Rita, 98 tornadoes were confirmed over nearly a two-day period. Most of the tornadoes occurred in Mississippi, where 49 tornadoes were confirmed. With forty-four tornadoes in a single day, this is tied for the largest tornado outbreak in state history in a single day. The strongest tornado throughout the outbreak was an F3 tornado which struck areas of southeastern Louisiana late on September 24, injuring three people. Despite the large number of tornadoes, only one death resulted, which occurred as a result of an F1 tornado in Mississippi on September 24. However, another F1 tornado near Starkville, Mississippi injured seven people on September 25 making it the tornado with the most injuries during the outbreak. The same tornado was also the costliest, causing $2 million in damages. Overall, tornadoes during the outbreak killed one person and injured 23, and caused $18.373 million in damages.
Background and meteorological synopsis
Hurricane Rita developed from a tropical wave north of Hispaniola on September 18. Tracking westward, it attained hurricane status while passing through the Straits of Florida. Abnormally warm sea surface temperatures over the Loop Current fueled rapid intensification, and Rita became a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale on September 21, the highest rating on the scale. At 09:00 pm that night, Rita reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of 895 mbar, making it the strongest tropical cyclone recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the fourth-strongest tropical cyclone recorded in the entirety of the Atlantic basin. The hurricane weakened as it approached the northern gulf coast, and Rita made landfall in extreme southwestern Louisiana at 01:40 am on September 24 with winds of 120 mph. Once inland, the hurricane weakened rapidly due to increasing wind shear, falling to tropical depression intensity over Arkansas by September 25. On the next day, Rita was absorbed by an approaching cold front over Illinois.The first indications that a potentially severe and tornadic event would result from Hurricane Rita were on September 22, when models showed that an area of wind shear located over East Texas would be favorable for tornadoes to develop from the hurricane's rainbands. The Storm Prediction Center posted a slight risk for severe weather for the region in their Day 3 Severe Thunderstorm Outlook issued at 0738 UTC on September 22. The slight risk area was expanded to include areas of Louisiana and Mississippi the following day, as the SPC noted the possibility of tornadoes forming within small supercells embedded within Rita's rainbands. During the first day of the tornado outbreak, the slight risk region was further expanded to account for Rita's expanding wind field.The tornado outbreak began on September 24 and continued into the next day, associated with the outer rainbands of the eastern edge of the landfalling hurricane. Over a 36 hour period, Mississippi experienced 44 tornadoes, setting a record for the most tornadoes over that time period. There were 55 tornadoes recorded within the Jackson, Mississippi National Weather Service's territory, becoming the largest outbreak in the office's history.