Katrina vs. Andrew (and Ivan, Lili, Rita) -- Size Matters!

[dhweather]

Why does the Andrew chart have AFRC 10 sec wind? Shouldn't that
be 1 minute?

[Derek Ortt]

10 second FL equates well with 1 min surface wind

[Stormcenter]

I don't think anyone disagrees with her large size compared to the average hurricanes but what seems to be the heated debate is her strength at landfall. Was she or was she not a Cat.4 at landfall? Well let's put it this way I can't recall any hurricane that produced these kinds of results on her west side.
Downtown New Orleans reported a wind gust of 114 mph. It takes more the 75 mph winds to blow windows in high rises like those in N.O. Did anyone see the damage she left on her "weak" side in Jackson, MS? What about Hattiesburg, MS? This storm was a large monster and one we hopefully we won't see again along the U.S. coastline for sometime. I still believe Katrina's "true" intensity at landfall will never be known.

[thunderchief]

Andrew was tightly wound with epic winds, katrina was large and the extended fetch of lesser winds pushed up an epic surge, also aided by the topography of the gulf. Keep in mind that at 902mb katrina was stronger than Andrew, and had only just started to weaken before moving onshore.

[f5]

small hurricane-bigger wind smaller surge (charley)
large hurricane-weaker winds replaced by epic surge(Katrina)