Rita Update

What this picture is basically saying: Shrug! But as of this afternoon, ACL coordinators "are keeping a very close watch on the weather and are being advised by meteorologists", and the festival will go on. More importantly, so will our "Local Music is Sexy" party!

From the Statesman:

Gov. Perry announces voluntary evacuations

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday urged voluntary evacuations along the Texas coast as Hurricane Rita closed in as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds. Perry cautioned that Rita would "quite likely be a devastating storm," and urged people from Beaumont to Corpus Christi to leave Wednesday because waiting another day would be too late. Galveston already had issued mandatory evacuations, and Houston Mayor Bill White on Wednesday ordered part of the state's largest city evacuated as well.

At 10:30 a.m. CDT, Rita was centered about 195 miles west of Key West and 700 miles southeast of Galveston, moving west at 14 mph. Forecasters predicted it would come ashore Saturday somewhere along the central Texas Gulf Coast between Galveston and Corpus Christi. The storm area covers a range from Mexico to Louisiana.

Earlier Wednesday, hospital and nursing home patients in Galveston were evacuated and others gathered up belongings and began clearing. Buses were leaving Galveston County, which has about 267,000 residents.