rita now category 3

KEY LARGO, Fla. (CNN) -- Hurricane Rita intensified early Wednesday as it moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 3 storm and the fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season.

National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters predict that Rita will strengthen to a Category 4 by later in the day -- the same strength as deadly Hurricane Katrina when it made landfall Aug. 29, devastating New Orleans and nearby Gulf Coast cities.

A Category 4 storm, with top sustained winds of 131 to 155 mph, can cause extreme damage, according to the Saffir-Simpson scale measuring hurricane strength.

[on CNN]