Katrina Now a Deadly Cat 5 Hurricane
Posted on August 28, 2005
Katrina is now a category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160mph. Cat 5 hurricanes are capable of catastrophic damage due to the powerful winds and incredible storm surge. Katrina is still forecast to make landfall at or near the New Orleans metropolitan area. Dr. Jeff Masters blogs that the storm is already the sixth strongest hurricane ever measured in the Atlantic and that Katrina could achieve winds of 190mph.
Maximum sustained winds at flight level during the 7am Hurricane Hunter mission into Katrina were 153 knots, which translates to 160 mph at the surface, making Katrina a minimal Category 5 hurricane. The winds are likely to increase to "catch up" to the rapidly falling pressure, and could approach the all-time record of 190 mph set in Camille and Allen. Winds of this level will create maximum storm surge heights over 25 feet, and this storm surge will affect an area at least double the area wiped clean by Camille, which was roughly half the size of Katrina. Katrina has continued to expand in size, and is now a huge hurricane like Ivan. Damage will be very widespread and extreme if Katrina can maintain Category 5 strength at landfall.Outerbands from Katrina are already starting to appear on the New Orleans Long Range Rader. The weather will continue to go downhill from now until Katrina makes landfall on Monday.
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