Crew members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance squadron, better known as the "hurricane hunters" said Rita is one of the most impressive storms they have ever seen after flying through it, according to a Local 6 News report.

The crew of six reservists flew a C-130 into Rita to measure temperature, pressure and wind of the system.

After punching through the eye wall of the storm Thursday, the crew said Rita should be taken seriously.

"It is probably one of the strongest storms in the short period of time I've seen and it's been a pretty good ride, I would say so," pilot Major Rob Light said after flying through the storm.

"The most impressive eye wall I have ever seen," hurricane navigator Major Mike Shannon said. "The radar presentation inbound is tremendous and the ride through the eye wall is totally one of the roughest I have ever been through."

The hurricane hunter program began as a dare between two Army Air Corps pilots in 1944, to fly through a tropical storm.

The latest National Hurricane Center forecast shows the storm possibly gaining some strength in the next 12 hours on a path toward Texas, likely avoiding a direct hit on Houston and Galveston early Saturday, according to Local 6 meteorologist Larry Mowry.

Friday, Rita remained a Category 4 storm, threatening its 140-mph winds at the Beaumont and Port Arthur area about 75 miles east of Houston.

Rita is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, making this the fourth-busiest season since record-keeping started in 1851.

The record is 21 tropical storms in 1933. Six hurricanes have hit Florida in the last 13 months.

The hurricane season started June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Watch Tom Sorrells, Larry Mowry and Michele Cimino for more on this story.