Katrina, Rita part of powerful storm cycle.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Robert Nolin

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the muscular headliners of this hurricane season, are just a preview of what to expect in coming years: More powerful storms.

And the trend could span decades.

Rita weakened slightly Thursday from a mighty Category 5 to a still-dangerous Category 4, but remained on course for the Texas coast, with an inevitably destructive landfall predicted for late Friday or early Saturday.

As the storm took a loose turn north, aiming somewhere between Galveston and the Texas-Louisiana border, more than a million threatened residents fled inland.

Floridians can expect similar scenarios as part of a natural cycle that will not only see more hurricanes, but more powerful ones as well.

"We are solidly into one of...

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