So, what happened?

I'm still getting a grip on that one.  Look at this tracking map of Katrina:

[Graphic deleted]

As you can see, right now she's a monster Cat-5 hurricane, bearing down on Louisiana.  Steve H. has more on the implications of this.

But look down to the track from the Bahamas onward, across Florida.  The thing that caught most people off-guard is that hurricanes rarely move to the south.  This is due in part to the Earth's rotation, as well as wind currents and other factors, that make hurricanes "want" to move north.

Katrina not only followed a very weird path by jogging south, but she also strengthened after making landfall.  Turning south and strengthening after landfall are two things that regular hurricane watchers (and if you live in a hurricane zone, you watch them) simply would not expect to happen.

But that doesn't really explain why this hurricane was as destructive as she was.  To understand that, you have to look at her directional speed; i.e., the speed at which she was moving forward, not her wind speed. 

The impact of any hurricane is affected by various factors, including directional speed, angle of approach to land, tides, and how wet the storm is; the wind category is just one major factor.  Some hurricanes are very powerful in terms of wind category, but they also move quickly, thus lessening their potential impact.  Katrina was a slow-moving storm; it's directional speed was only about 6 m.p.h. as it sauntered its way through Miami-Dade County. 

Even your kid sister's punches will start to hurt if she sits on you and pummels away long enough.  This one hurt.  Trees are down everywhere.  The marina near our house was a mess due to boats being dragged from their moorings and being pushed ashore or into other boats.  Two guys who were staying on their boats drowned. 

(P.S.  If you ever decide to buy a boat, especially a sailboat, learn how to get it to dry storage, or to a hurricane hole, whenever a hurricane watch is issued.  Leaving your boat moored or negligently anchored is going to create problems for other boaters, so if you can't hack the responsibility, don't buy one.)

I'll get a few pictures up in a couple of days.  I'm still not sure when I'll have power, and wife took the camera with her to St. Pete.

The a/c is back on here at my office.  Considering that I only slept for a few hours, last night, my office floor is looking mighty inviting.

I think I'd better get out while I can.

TTFN.

Comments

[george]

My prayers are with the folks going through this ordeal. Today I stumbled across a website at www.SupportNewOrleans.com which supports the brave people facing Hurricane Katrina. Others have posted letters of support on the site as well.