US authorities rescued more than 100 motorists in Indiana who were trapped in their cars in biting temperatures as snowstorms over the weekend were blamed for at least 15 deaths.

Hurricane Rita closed in on the Texas Gulf Coast and the heart of the US oil-refining industry with howling 145 mph winds, but a sharper-than-expected turn to the right set it on a course that could spare Houston and nearby Galveston a direct hit.