Eye forming while over land?

[wxmann_91]

Looking at the latest radar the center is clearing out.

On land.

Is it just me or is Katrina not a normal hurricane or is it actually happening or is it just dry air intruding?

Thanks for any comments and/or answers.

[Ixolib]

Actually, this is the Twilight Zone - nothing is as it appears...

[jasons2k]

I have Key west shot here, showing western eyewall still intact:

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic ... c&start=80

[ROCK]

I have Key west shot here, showing western eyewall still intact:

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic ... c&start=80

yeah, roughly 40% intacted after this amount of time over land...Simply amazing...I think every year we learn something new....

[rtd2]

Looking at the latest radar the center is clearing out.

On land.

Is it just me or is Katrina not a normal hurricane or is it actually happening or is it just dry air intruding?

Thanks for any comments and/or answers.

I wouldnt call this LAND its MOSTLY swamp..so the Eye is still getting a good bit of Moisture.

[Sanibel]

Not surprising. This storm was bursting from the Gulf Stream on landfall and is still taking a boost from the eastern overwater bands.

The Everglades are mostly water and grass, so there's not too much land friction.

Katrina is exiting at a faster pace than expected and further south. It will soon emerge over 91-93 degree SST's.

One of the most amazing storms I've ever live-tracked down here...

[wxmann_91]

Interesting... (from the hurricane FAQ)

An early numerical simulation (Tuleya and Kurihara 1978) had shown that a hurricane making landfall over a very moist region (i.e. mainly swamp) so that surface evaporation is unchanged, intensification may result. However, a more recent study (Tuleya 1994) that has a more realistic treatment of surface conditions found that even over a swampy area a hurricane would weaken because of limited heat sources. Indeed, nature conducted this experiment during Andrew as the hurricane traversed the very wet Everglades, Big Cypress and Corkscrew Swamp areas of southwest Florida. Andrew weakened dramatically: peak winds decreased about 33% and the sea level pressure in the eye filled 19 mb (Powell and Houston 1996).

[MGC]

It may be true that a intense hurricane like Andrew would weaken, however, observing Katrina tonight would suggest otherwise for minimal hurricanes. Katrina is tapping moisture from both the Atlantic and GOM currently which could in part explain her slow weakening......MGC

[gatorcane]

not to mention that it's a swamp, the next best thing to an ocean with swamp water probably in the 90s.

[storms in NC]

tell me how they can downgrade the winds? I think she has held on very well.

[btangy]

Part of the reason it hasn't decayed as fast is it was really getting its act together right when it made landfall. The eye continued to contract over land and that's what has probably kept the winds up.

[Eyes2theSkies]

irene sustained just fine over the everglades and that was also a minimal cat 1

[Aslkahuna]

A study of the effects on the intensity of typhoons crossing the Philippines done by JTWC in the 1970's showed that minimal typhoons lost far less intensity than intense ones while Tropical Storms and Depressions were barely affected. The bottom line was that for typhoons crossing the mountains of northern Luzon had about 60kt winds when they coasted out regardless of what the winds were when they made landfall.

Steve