N.O. Question Mets please answer

[SouthFloridawx]

What would a hit on New Orleans be like as a Cat. 4 Hurricane? I know they are below sea level a couple of us have had a conversation but, have no facts to back it up and do not live there. Can anyone give me an idea?

[jax]

all i can suggest is.... Get out of town...

[skysummit]

I'm not a pro met, but you're talking total devistation. A study was done by LSU that showed a slow moving cat 3 hurricance coming from the SE would put 12 - 16 feet of water inside New Orleans. Now, with NOLA being below sea level, it could take up to 6 - 8 months for all the water to be pumped out.
The majority of highways that exit NOLA has to cross water at some point so it's important to start evacs early. What would normally take 2 hours to drive, would take 8 hours in an evac.

[sunny]

Kiss New Olreans bye-bye.

[duris]

Check the web site http://www.nola.com. It has the Times-Picayune's lengthy series about the possible scenarios for New Orleans.

[smashmode]

The geography of Louisana changes. Pretty big impact.

[BReb]

My question is- how much better would it be for NOLA if the storm were moving due north or NNE as it hit NOLA? Would that pump a lot less water into Ponchatrain?

It seems unlikely to me that Katrina will be coming from the SE if it hits NO. From the south is more likely.

[sunny]

My question is- how much better would it be for NOLA if the storm were moving due north or NNE as it hit NOLA? Would that pump a lot less water into Ponchatrain?

It seems unlikely to me that Katrina will be coming from the SE if it hits NO. From the south is more likely.

A hurricane moving into New Orleans from the SE is the worst case scenario. Especially a major cane.

[Kennethb]

Lots of worst case scenerios. Probably the worst would be a cat 3 or higher approaching slowly from the south - southwest. This would allow several days of east winds pushing water into Lake Pontchartrain, and as the stormed moved over or just east, push the higher water into the city.

Needless to say, any cat 3 or higher from any direction is not good, especially one that was moving slow or stalled.

[Kennethb]

Lots of worst case scenerios. Probably the worst would be a cat 3 or higher approaching slowly from the south - southwest. This would allow several days of east winds pushing water into Lake Pontchartrain, and as the stormed moved over or just east, push the higher water into the city.

Needless to say, any cat 3 or higher from any direction is not good, especially one that was moving slow or stalled.

[wjs3]

Here's an article I found in a quick Yahoo search...this should give you an idea...there appear to be a lot of other articles online (Search on Hurricane & New Orleans--but be sure to exclude the famous drink form your search!)


http://www.marcoeagle.com/hurricane/01/d632401a.htm

If you want to research a pretty bad new orleans storm, as I understand it (from My dad, who lived through it), the 1947 hurricane that hit NO was pretty bad

[HurryKane]

As always, the Times-Picayune series on the worst-case scenario for a New Orleans hit:

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/