Pressures dropping north of Rita ...

[BReb]

At 1:25 central time:

Houston, TX

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/US ... earch_city

29.83 and falling.

Lafayette, LA

29.83 and falling.

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/US ... earch_city

Lake Charles, La

29.84 and falling

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/US ... earch_city

Will these falling pressures not make it easier for Rita to take a more northward path? I admit I'm puzzled by these pressure readings, though. For example, the weather gurus are talking about a very strong high over north Texas and Oklahoma, but the pressure readings in Plano, TX is 29.87 and falling:

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/US ... earch_city

My home town of Oxford, MS by contrast is

at 29.99 and steady:

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/38 ... Undeclared

So the pressure in north Mississippi seesm to be .12 greater than that in north Texas, where there's supposedly some super-strong high. Don't pretend to understand that.

[Brent]

It's an upper air high... not a surface high. A surface high would show up on maps and give you a high pressure at the surface.