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It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

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THE EYEWALL OF KATRINA WILL MOVE ACROSS ST. TAMMANY PARISH...HANCOCK...AND HARRISON COUNTIES THIS HOUR. EXTREMELY VIOLENT WINDS OF 110 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 135 MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE EYEWALL AS IT MOVES THROUGH. PERSONS ALONG THE GULF COAST IN THESE AREAS NEED TO TAKE SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
This was the last statement issued by WFO New Orleans/Baton Rouge before their telecommunications capabilities failed due to a widespread outage at the service provider’s primary communications hub in New Orleans. WFO Mobile assumed full backup responsibility at that point.
WFO Mobile, AL
WFO Mobile has experienced more land-falling tropical cyclones than any other Gulf Coast WFO over the past 10 years. In addition to providing forecasts and warnings for their service area, WFO Mobile assumed service backup responsibility for WFO New Orleans/Baton Rouge following the communications failure. WFO Mobile did a superb job on both accounts, particularly given the fact that Hurricane Katrina directly affected the staff. Many employees suffered damage to their homes. WFO Mobile provided service backup for WFO New Orleans/Baton Rouge for 22 days.
Portions of WFO Mobile’s service area experienced hurricane conditions. The maximum sustained one-minute wind speed recorded within their area was 67 mph; the highest wind gust was 84 mph. Katrina produced a storm surge of 11.5 feet in Mobile Bay, second only to the storm surge of 11.6 feet during the July 1916 hurricane. These conditions were well forecast by TPC/NHC and WFO Mobile. The first HLS was issued by WFO Mobile at 7:25 p.m. EDT August 27, about 36 hours prior to landfall. The HLS stated in part:
KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL SOMEWHERE NEAR SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA AS A MAJOR HURRICANE. WHILE EXACT LOCATION OF LANDFALL IS STILL UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME... SIGNIFICA NT AND LIFE THREATENING STORM SURGE IS EXPECTED TO BE FELT WELL EAST OF THE STORMS CENTER. BASED ON THE LATEST FORECAST TRACK...A STORM SURGE OF 8 TO 12 FEET IS EXPECTED ALONG COASTAL MOBILE COUNTY AND THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF MOBILE BAY. A STORM SURGE OF 7 TO 9 FEET IS EXPECTED ALONG COASTAL BALDWIN COUNTY. THESE SURGE HEIGHT VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INUNDA TION ALONG PORTIONS OF DA UPHIN ISLAND AND FORT MORGAN PENINSULA.
WFO Jackson, MS
Within WFO Jackson’s service area, the primary weather-related impact of Katrina was high winds and tornadoes. Katrina produced eleven tornadoes in WFO Jackson’s service area. Of these tornadoes, two were rated F-2, and the other nine were rated F-l. The damage associated with these tornadoes was mostly fallen and uprooted
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