After weakening to a tropical storm, Rita entered DeSoto and Caddo Parishes. The center passed just west of Downtown Shreveport before crossing the Arkansas border. At the height of the storm, over 175,000 people had lost power in the National Weather Service Shreveport's forecast area, mainly across Deep East Texas into northwest Louisiana. Two fatalities occurred in the Ark-La-Tex. A tree fell on one person; the other fatality occurred when a teenager was electrocuted when picking up a "hot" power line. Shreveport recorded its 2nd lowest pressure ever recorded as the center of Rita moved through Shreveport around 6 pm Saturday evening. The pressure recorded was which was only .01 inch higher than the lowest pressure on record of 29.04 inches back on February 27, 1902.WFO SHV – Hurricane Rita Archived Page
