Pat Shingleton for Sept. 25, 2012

At 2:38 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita made landfall at Johnson’s Bayou in Cameron Parish as a Category 3 hurricane.

Winds were clocked at 115 mph, making Rita the fourth most-intense Atlantic hurricane. Rita followed Katrina, causing extensive damage to two cities on each end of our state.

On Sept. 23, 2005, my column noted “for the first time in 25 years ... temperatures in the Gulf are above 90 degrees.” The storm’s Saturday landfall prompted the LSU athletic department to reschedule the LSU-Tennessee game to a first-time Monday night contest.

WBRZ Sports Director Mike Cauble noted, “It was Coach Les Miles’ first home game with unbearable weather conditions.”

The storm resulted in stagnant, post-storm moisture in the stadium. LSU led 21-0 at one point, but lost in overtime.

Fastcast: Muggy.