Tracking Hurricane Katrina



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Tracking Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. At least 2,000 people lost their lives in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane: total property damage was estimated at $81 billion, nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 storm on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. The most severe loss of life occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks. However, the worst property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as all Mississippi beachfront towns, which were flooded over 90% in hours, as boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland, with waters reaching 6–12 miles (10–19 km) from the beach.



Objective: Using the information from the Hurricane Katrina data chart, track the path the hurricane took during the time periods listed using latitude and longitude.

Procedure:

  1. Using the Hurricane Katrina data chart plot the positions of the storm from August 23rd-September 1st

  2. Label each position

  3. Using the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale, determine the storms category for each position. (For example a tropical storm = TS, Hurricane category 3 =3)

  4. Connect the positions with a solid line and an arrow to show direction

  5. Repeat steps 1-4 for hurricane Igor

Hurricane Katrina



Date

Time

Location

Wind speed in MPH

8/23

P.M

24*N 72*W

36

8/24

A.M

P.M


26*N 74*W

26.5*N 76*W



39

44


8/25

A.M

P.M


26.5*N 79*W

25*N 80.5*W



62

68


8/26

A.M

P.M


25*N 82*W

24*N 85*W



71

84


8/27

A.M

P.M


24*N 86*W

25*N 87*W



96

112


8/28

A.M

P.M


26*N 89*W

27*N 90*W



149

177


8/29

A.M

P.M


29*N 90*W

31*N 89.5*W



154

124


8/30

A.M

P.M


32*N 89*W

34*N 87*W



112

91


8/31

A.M

P.M


36*N 86*W

37*N 85*W



55

46


9/1

A.M

P.M


39*N 84*W

40*N 83*W



37

30


Hurricane Igor


9/12

P.M

20*N 48*W


101


9/14

A.M

P.M


22*N 51*W

24*N 54*W



122

121


9/16

A.M

P.M


26*N 60*W

27*N 62*W



139

147


9/18

A.M

P.M


30*N 66*W

31*N 68*W



121

120


9/20

A.M

P.M


35*N 71*W

36*N 70*W



88

79


9/22

A.M

P.M


39*N 68*W

40*N 66*W



46

41


9/23

A.M.

P.M.


41*N 65*W

42*N 63*W



37

31





9/24

A.M.

42*N 62*W

24




















http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/sect14/saffir_simpson_graphic.jpg

http://www.call4paul.com/images/trakmap.jpg
http://www.fusionimdigital.com/upload/image/tracking%20map%20(2)%20(3).jpg

Questions:



  1. According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, what is the relationship between air pressure and wind velocity?



  1. According to the Hurricane Katrina chart, compare the wind speed and air pressure on August 29th (A.M) to the wind speed and air pressure on August 31st.




  1. Considering your answer to the previous question, what might be the source of a hurricanes’ energy?




  1. What precautions might someone take a few days before the arrival of a major hurricane like Katrina?




  1. Besides wind and rain what other factor is usually most devastating to coastal communities during a major hurricane?



  1. Even though hurricane Igor remained over the ocean for its’ entire life, why did it begin to lose intensity around September 17th?


Conclusion: Should we be concerned about a major hurricane hitting Long Island (explain your answer).

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