A realistic simulation of Hurricane Rita (2005) is performed with a three-dimensional, full-physics atmospheric model (HIGRAD) coupled to an electrification module (Mansell et al. 2005). The model is initialized with Doppler radar derived latent heating estimates of the storm during a rapid deepening phase. Lightning output from the model is compared to measurements of lightning discharge from the Los Alamos Sferic Array (LASA) operating in the very-low frequency radio band. Implications of the results for monitoring and predicting hurricane intensification will be discussed.