Hurricane Katrina: Development and Devastation
Hurricane Katrina: Development and Devastation Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storm systems to ever collide with the coastal United States in the last century. Strong winds sustained during landfall of over 140 mph combined with a very low central pressure (920 mb) to wreak havoc on many coastal communities in ways not seen before in the US (1). Despite monitoring the storms development, tracking its movement, and issuing early warnings, Hurricane Katrina has proved to be the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Hurricane Katrina began as Tropical Depression #12 on August 23rd in the Southeastern Bahamas (1). The next day, on August 24th the storm was named Tropical Storm Katrina (1). TS Katrina picked up in strength while traveling a northwesterly then westerly path through the Bahamas (1). Shortly before landfall in southern Florida, at about 6:30 Eastern Daylight-Savings Time on August 25th, Katrina strengthened into a category 1 hurricane (windspeeds > 75 mph) (1). Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Florida between Hallandale Beach and N. Miami Beach with windspeeds around 80 mph and gusts to 90 mph. Katrina 's winds slowed while traveling over the Florida 's southern tip, then regained hurricane strength while in the Gulf of Mexico due to the relatively small amount of time (> 7 hrs) spent over land (1). Once in the Gulf of Mexico Katrina moved due west. At the same time, a mid-level ridge that was hovering over Texas weakened and moved westward (1). This cleared room for and allowed Katrina to slowly turn to the northwest and then north over the following few days (1). An upper level anticyclone over the Gulf lead to Katrina 's rapid intensification. On August 27th, the storm was upgraded to Category 3 (2). On Sunday morning at just 12:40 a.m., August 28th, Katrina was awarded Category 4 status (2). Later that morning, Katrina was recorded as having maximum winds o f 150
Bibliography: 1. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2005/katrina.html 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina 3. http://geocities.com/hurricanecamille.htm 4. http://robertlindsay.blogspot.com/2005/11/katrina-death-toll-nears-1400.html 5. http://www.hurricane-katrina.org