Rita sweeps Northeast
Heavy Rain Warnings for Montreal/Ottawa

Despite earlier predictions of Rita stalling out over Mississippi for the better part of the upcoming week, she has decided to spare the south her heavy rains. Thankfully the storm is being swept northeast along a trough of low pressure. The system will slide down the St. Lawrence Valley into Monday with heavy rains forecast. Upwards of 100mm could fall in Ottawa and Montreal. Heavy Rain Warnings have been posted from Kingston to Quebec City and north to the Laurentians. Embedded thunderstorms are also expected and winds could be gusty.

While many people in Texas are beginning to return home it is a different story in Louisiana. The southwest part of the state; basically what was not hit by Katrina, was hammered by Rita. Heavy damage was reported in both Vermillion and Cameron Parishes. It will be days before the extent of the damage is known. No exact figure on casualties is available.

Meanwhile the death toll from Katrina has exceeded 1000.