First of all I don't care how strong Katrina was at landfall. It doesn't matter!
What matters is that thousands of people lost their lives, lost their homes, and lost there way of life to due a major hurricane. Katrina had a powerful storm surge which stretched all the way down from LA to even parts of FL.
Here are some interesting links about Katrina's wrath was unbelievable and that this arguing is sensless in my opinion. Katrina came in on August 29, 2005 and those who live to tell the story have remarkable stories of survival.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/0805Katrina/
And for what it is worth I live on the Alabama Coast and saw what it did here. Of course everyone on this board that knows me knows that. My husband on the other hand has gone from Alabama to Venice, LA and has pictures of the area. It is unbelievable the devastation that occur in those areas. I have been through the MS and LA Coast many times and there were places that I didn't even recognize because landmarks were gone. (from the pics that my husband had taken)
To hear people's stories from these areas are heartbreakening. Even if the winds were a high Cat 3 that is still a major hurricane. The storm surge is a different story. To hear people tell stories of finding things that we take for granted in everyday life being something that they want to hold onto...a picture caked in mud, a piece of wood from their house, etc tells the story of what really happen on that August Day.
And over 100 miles away from where the center of Hurricane Katrina made landfall there were 90 mph gusts reported in Mobile Bay at the USS Alabama. That is CAT 1 winds way over 100 miles from where she made landfall. The first link given if scrolled down to where it gives winds it is on that page.
Hurricane Katrina 2005
Katrina was one of the most devastating hurricanes in the history of the United States. It is the deadliest hurricane to strike the United States since the Palm Beach-Lake Okeechobee hurricane of September 1928. It produced catastrophic damage - estimated at $75 billion in the New Orleans area and along the Mississippi coast - and is the costliest U. S. hurricane on record.
Katrina then strengthened significantly, reaching Category 5 intensity on August 28. Later that day, maximum sustained winds reached 175 mph with an aircraft-measured central pressure of 902 mb while centered about 195 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Katrina turned to the northwest and then north, with the center making landfall near Buras, Louisiana at 1110 UTC August 29 with maximum winds estimated at 125 mph (Category 3). Continuing northward, the hurricane made a second landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border at 1445 UTC with maximum winds estimated at 120 mph (Category 3). Weakening occurred as Katrina moved north-northeastward over land, but it was still a hurricane near Laurel, Mississippi. The cyclone weakened to a tropical depression over the Tennessee Valley on 30 August. Katrina became an extratropical low on August 31 and was absorbed by a frontal zone later that day over the eastern Great Lakes.
Katrina brought hurricane conditions to southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and southwestern Alabama. The Coastal Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) station at Grand Isle, Louisiana reported 10-minute average winds of 87 mph at 0820 UTC August 29 with a gust to 114 mph. Higher winds likely occurred there and elsewhere, as many stations were destroyed, lost power, or lost communications during the storm. Storm surge flooding of 25 to 28 feet above normal tide level occurred along portions of the Mississippi coast, with storm surge flooding of 10 to 20 feet above normal tide levels along the southeastern Louisiana coast. Hurricane conditions also occurred over southern Florida and the Dry Tortugas. The National Hurricane Center reported sustained winds of 69 mph at 0115 UTC August 26 with a gust to 87 mph. Additionally, tropical storm conditions occurred along the northern Gulf coast as far east as the coast of the western Florida Panhandle, as well as in the Florida Keys. Katrina caused 10 to 14 inches of rain over southern Florida, and 8 to 12 inches of rain along its track inland from the northern Gulf coast. Thirty-three tornadoes were reported from the storm.
Katrina is responsible for approximately 1200 reported deaths, including about 1000 in Louisiana and 200 in Mississippi. Seven additional deaths occurred in southern Florida. Katrina caused catastrophic damage in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Storm surge along the Mississippi coast caused total destruction of many structures, with the surge damage extending several miles inland. Similar damage occurred in portions of southeastern Louisiana southeast of New Orleans. The surge overtopped and breached levees in the New Orleans metropolitan area, resulting in the inundation of much of the city and its eastern suburbs. Wind damage from Katrina extended well inland into northern Mississippi and Alabama. The hurricane also caused wind and water damage in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The National Hurricane Center also maintains the official Tropical Cyclone Report for Hurricane Katrina in PDF and MS-Word.
For an interactive map of Hurricane Katrina visit the NOAA Coastal Services Center.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/history.shtml#katrina
Been down there many times....I wish those folks well, I really do!