ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hurricane Rita spared Key West a direct hit Tuesday, but is now expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico and grow into a dangerous Category 4 storm on a path toward Texas, according to Local 6 meteorologist Tom Sorrells.

"The Hurricane Center is now in agreement with what we have been saying all along, come Wednesday, it should be Category 4 storm heading toward Texas," Sorrells said.

The current path pushes the storm west of New Orleans, making landfall somewhere between Corpus Christi and Houston.

"If it makes landfall there as a strong Category 4 or even Category 5 storm, it is going to be devastation for that area just like we've seen already this hurricane season," Sorrells said. "This could become the worst storm to ever hit Texas if it does what I think it may do."

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 3 storm packing 115 mph winds early Wednesday after lashing the Florida Keys and sparking anxiety as it headed into the Gulf of Mexico.

At 2 a.m. EDT, Rita's eye was about 145 miles west of Key West. The storm was moving west at 14 mph - a track that kept the most destructive winds at sea and away from Key West.

"The faster this thing goes over the waters in the Gulf, the more tightening up it will do," Sorrells said. "It's going to start to conserve its angular momentum and blow up. It is already a large system."

Central Florida

Rain bands continued to pass through parts of Central Florida Tuesday night.

"Here at home, let's face it, we've lucked out," Sorrells said.

Scattered showers and breezy conditions are expected through Wednesday along the coast.

A lake wind advisory was issued for Osceola and Polk counties.

"The farther south you go, the better your shot for getting rain," Sorrells said.

Warnings

At 11 p.m., a hurricane warning remains in effect for the lower Florida Keys from west of the Seven Mile Bridge westward to Key West and Dry Tortugas.

The hurricane warning for the middle and upper Keys has been replaced with a tropical storm warning from the Seven Mile Bridge east and north to Ocean Reef, including Florida Bay.

All warnings have been discontinued for the Florida peninsula.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Cuban province of Pinar Del Rio.

Keys Spared Severe Damage

Rita raked the Florida Keys Tuesday dumping heavy rain in South Florida.

"Fortunately, it wasn't a major hurricane that went right through the Keys. It hasn't been a worst-case scenario by any means," said Michelle Mainelli, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.

Residents and visitors had been ordered out of the Keys, and voluntary evacuation orders were posted for coastal mainland areas such as Miami Beach. Some 58,000 people were evacuated in Cuba, on the southern side of the Florida Straits.

Many of Key West's shops and bars were boarded up.

"This city was really very well prepared," said Jim Gilleran, owner of the 801 Bar in the Old Town section of Key West. He kept his business open despite the heavy rain and a power outage.

At least one segment of the Keys highway, U.S. 1, was barricaded because of water and debris, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Wind-driven water was flowing across other sections of the two- and three-lane highway that connects the Keys.

Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley said he was cautiously optimistic that the islands would be spared the full fury of the storm, with Rita's eye forecast to remain at sea just to the south.

"I think we did, so far, dodge a bullet," Weekley said. "We still have some time to go. It's not the intensity of a (Category) 2 or 3 that we thought it would be."

Four hurricanes struck Florida last year, killing dozens of people and causing $19 billion in insured losses in Florida.

Hurricane Dennis brushed by the Keys in July, flooding some Key West streets, toppling trees and knocking out power, before slamming the Florida Panhandle.

Florida was also hit this year by Hurricane Katrina.

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

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