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range of 18 to 22 feet to locally as high as 28 feet. At this time, NHC also began emphasizing that “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion
Also on August 28, NHC headlined its public advisories with the phrase ''''Potentially Catastrophic ” or “Extremely Dangerous” to highlight the threat posed by Katrina. Comparisons were made to Hurricane Camille, the hurricane of record for the central Gulf coast, but emphasized that Katrina was a larger hurricane and its effects would be felt throughout the hurricane warning area. Concurrently, NHC activated their media pool. Despite the national media’s primary focus on the potential impacts of Katrina on New Orleans, NHC personnel took every opportunity to mention that Katrina would also have a significant impact on the coast of Mississippi.
The TPC/NHC advisory issued at 4 p.m. CDT indicated the potential for the levees surrounding New Orleans to be overtopped:
COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 18 TO 22 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...LOCALLY AS HIGH AS 28 FEET...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. SOME LEVEES IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA COULD BE OVERTOPPED
Katrina made landfall during the early morning of August 29 in southeast Louisiana, just south of Buras, as a strong Category 3 hurricane with estimated maximum sustained winds near 125 mph. The NHC track brought Katrina to the Louisiana-Mississippi border for its second Gulf landfall a few hours later, also as a Category 3 hurricane. NHC downgraded Katrina to a tropical storm that evening as the storm moved inland through the lower Mississippi River Valley. Katrina weakened to a tropical depression near Clarksville, TN, around 7 a.m. CDT, August 30. Later that day, TPC/NHC passed forecast responsibility for Katrina to HPC.
Florida Weather Forecast Offices
WFO Miami and WFO Key West provided a steady flow of information in the form of briefings, discussions, forecast products, watches, warnings, and statements as Katrina moved over southern Florida.
Due to a more southerly track than initially forecast, Katrina produced an estimated storm surge of three to five feet along the southwestern Florida coast of mainland Monroe County early on August 26. WFO Miami issued frequent Hurricanc Local Statements (HLSs) to convey expected conditions and impacts of Katrina on South Florida, including the slight southwesterly shift in the storm’s track on the 25th. The WFO Miami HLS issued at 11 p.m. EDT August 25 indicated a possible two to four foot storm surge. Approximately four to six hours later, three to five foot storm surge flooding occurred along the southwestern Florida coast.
The impact of the storm surge was especially significant in Everglades National Park: six trailers were significantly damaged and one destroyed, water damaged the lower level of ranger living quarters, seven personal vehicles flooded, eleven government
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