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Hurricane Katrina remains infamous as one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the United States.
20 years ago on Aug. 29, it made its strongest landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in southeast Louisiana and brought devastation across the city of New Orleans and surrounding parishes.
Meteorological history
Hurricane Katrina developed from the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten and a tropical wave near the Lesser Antilles. It became Tropical Depression Twelve over the southeastern Bahamas on Aug. 23.
On Aug. 24, it was classified as Tropical Storm Katrina, and it moved through the northwestern part of the Bahamas on Aug. 25. It strengthened into a hurricane on the evening of Aug. 25 just before making its first landfall near the Miami-Dade/Broward County line.
The storm drifted southwest across southern Florida before moving over the eastern Gulf on Aug. 26. Over the warm waters of the Gulf, Katrina rapidly intensified, becoming a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph on Aug. 28.
A satellite image of Hurricane Katrina prior to making landfall on Aug. 29, 2005. (NOAA)
Katrina turned to the northwest and then north, making its second landfall near Buras, LA, in the southeastern part of the state on Aug. 29. It had weakened to a Category 3, with winds of 125 mph, just before landfall.
Approximately five hours later, Katrina made a third landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with winds estimated at 120 mph, still a Category 3 hurricane.
Katrina moved over land and weakened but still maintained hurricane strength near Laurel, Mississippi. It was finally downgraded to a tropical depression on Aug. 30 before dissipating altogether on Aug. 31.
Katrina’s impacts
Katrina wasn’t just a Louisiana/Mississippi storm; at its height, it was 780 miles from east to west and about the same distance from north to south. Hurricane conditions were reported in southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama, with storm surges reported as far east as Destin, FL.
Storm surge affected coastal regions, with a 20-mile-wide swath of 24 to 28 feet along the Mississippi Coast. The highest surge was at Pass Christian, MS, at 27.8 feet. The storm surge was so high that it overtopped the levees in the city of New Orleans, leading to levee failures and extensive flooding. 80% of New Orleans was under water on Aug. 31.
The damage and destruction it caused equated to $125 billion (un-adjusted 2005 dollars). Not to mention the thousands of lives lost.
More Storm Season Resources
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Meteorologist Stacy Lynn
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