Hurricane in Mississippi, August 28 to 29, 2005

Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the coast of the United States. It will likely be recorded as one the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States to date resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous casualties in southeast Louisiana and along the Mississippi coast. Damage and casualties resulting from Hurricane Katrina extended as far east as Alabama and the panhandle of Florida. Katrina developed from a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 24th. After moving through the Bahamas as a tropical storm, Katrina strengthened to a category 1 hurricane prior to landfall in south Florida around the Miami area on the 25th of August. Katrina crossed south Florida and entered the Gulf of Mexico and began to strengthen. Hurricane Katrina strengthened to a category 5 storm on August 28th about 250 miles south southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River with winds reaching their peak intensity of 175 mph and a central pressure of 902 mb. Post event analysis by the National Hurricane Center indicates that Katrina weakened slightly before making landfall as a strong category 3 storm in initial landfall in lower Plaquemines Parish. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 110 knots or 127 mph and a central pressure of 920 mb around 610 AM CDT on August 29th in southeast Louisiana just south of Buras in Plaquemines Parish. The storm continued on a north northeast track with the center passing about 40 miles southeast of New Orleans with a second landfall occurring near the Louisiana and Mississippi border around 945 AM CDT as a category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds estimated around 105 knots or 121 mph. Katrina continued to weaken as it moved north northeast across Mississippi during the day, but remained at hurricane strength 100 miles inland near Laurel, Mississippi. Katrina weakened to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee on August 30th.Damage across coastal Mississippi was catastrophic. The storm surge associated with Hurricane Katrina approached or exceeded the surge associated with Hurricane Camille and impacted a much more extensive area. Almost total destruction was observed along the immediate coast in Hancock and Harrison Counties with storm surge damage extending north along bays and bayous to Interstate 10. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed by the storm surge. Hurricane force winds also caused damage to roofs, power lines, signage, downed tress, and some windows were broken by wind and wind driven debris In areas away from storm surge flooding, wind damage was widespread with fallen trees taking a heavy toll on houses and power lines. Damage was less extensive in southwest Mississippi. Excluding losses covered by the Federal Flood Insurance Program, insured property losses in Mississippi were estimated at 9.8 billion dollars. Uninsured and insured losses combined were estimated to exceed 100 billion dollars across the Gulf Coast.As of late October the following fatality figures were reported in the Mississippi coastal counties; Hancock- 52, Harrison - 83, Jackson - 17. Additional details on fatalities will be given in later updates to storm data.Due to the failure of power and equipment prior to the peak of the storm, data for wind, storm surge, pressure, and rainfall are incomplete. The lowest pressure on the Mississippi coast was estimated to be 928 mb where the hurricane made landfall near the Louisiana Mississippi border. A pressure of 976 mb was recorded at 0951 CDT by a university weather station deployed in Pascagoula, well east of the landfall location. At approximately the same time, the pressure at the NWS office in Slidell, just to the west of landfall location, recorded a pressure of 934.1 mb at 0938 AM CDT. The highest wind gusts recorded in Mississippi and the adjacent coastal waters were 117 knots (134 mph) at the Pearl River County EOC office in Poplarville and 102 knots (118 mph) at 1000AM CDT by a university wind tower deployed at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County. Maximum sustained winds in Mississippi were estimated around 105 knots (121 mph) near the storm's second landfall along the Mississippi and Louisiana border. Unofficial wind observations before the gage failed included a wind gust of 106 kt, (122 mph) at 0615 CDT by an amateur radio operator in Long Beach and a wind gust of 108 kt (124 mph) at the EOC in Pascagoula. Most tide gages were destroyed by the storm surge so storm surge was determined primarily by post storm high water mark surveys conducted by FEMA. An estimated storm surge of approximately 23.0 feet occurred at the Hancock County EOC operations area in Waveland, and the high water mark measured on the Jackson County EOC building in Pascagoula was 16.1 feet. Preliminary estimates of storm surge along the Mississippi Coast include Hancock County 19-25 ft, Harrison County 19-25 feet, Jackson County 17-21 ft. All storm surge heights are still water elevations referenced to NAVD88 datum.Storm total rainfall amounts generally ranged from 10 to 16 inches across coastal and south Mississippi with much lower amounts observed over southwest Mississippi. The highest observed storm total rainfall was 11 inches at Stennis Space Center and near Picayune.