Gulf of Mexico – Hurricane Katrina – 8/27/2005
The three maps show the development and the trajectory of hurricane “Katrina” on three consecutive days from August 27 to 29, 2005. The hurricane developed on August 23, 2005 from a low pressure vortex over the Bahamas. On August 25, it reached the southern tip of Florida with average wind speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour and a core pressure of 984 hectopascals. Overland, the cyclone weakened somewhat and turned to the southwest.
Katrina then moved across the Gulf of Mexico, where he again gained a lot of energy from the water, which was around 30 degrees Celsius, and quickly increased in strength. On August 27, the hurricane, with mean wind speeds of up to 185 kilometers per hour and a core pressure of 942 hectopascals, reached category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale and thus the status of a “major hurricane”. He turned more to the northwest.
On August 28, Katrina finally reached the highest category 5 after renewed reinforcement. The core pressure fell to 909 hectopascals with average wind speeds of up to 280 kilometers per hour. On August 29, the hurricane turned further north and hit the south coast of the United States. Upon reaching New Orleans, Louisiana, Katrina had weakened back to Category 3. The hurricane quickly lost energy over land, so that it developed into a tropical storm over the US state of Mississippi. For more information about the continent of North America, please check estatelearning.com.
