Rita: Is Texas Screwed?

Rita has now outdone her older sister Katrina - 898 mb central pressure, the 3rd lowest ever for an Atlantic Hurricane. Galveston is very near the bullseye of her projected path. It also seems possible that Rita will stall out over Texas and dump up to 30 inches of rain.
Note the rapidly expanding wind field at right.
A conservative Republican scientist said to me today "It's got to be global warming."
The experts aren't convinced, but I find the storms a lot more suggestive than a cold winter day or two in Boston in Boston.