4 years ago today to the hour

[JTD]

4 years ago today almost to the hour,

The most cataclysmic storm to ever hit the United States in modern times formed.

Little did we know what was to come:(

I remember at the time. Some models like the GFDL hinted at what was to come but they seemed to be not credible. Also, the storm was expected to spend just a short time in the GOM as well, which it unfortunately did not. It still seems like just yesterday.

Here's the 5 p.m. first advisory

...TWELFTH DEPRESSION OF THE SEASON FORMS OVER THE BAHAMAS...
...TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS ISSUED...

AT 5 PM EDT...2100Z...THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BAHAMAS HAS ISSUED A
TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST BAHAMAS. THIS
INCLUDES CAT ISLAND...THE EXUMAS...LONG ISLAND...RUM CAY...
SAN SALVADOR...NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS... THE ABACOS... ANDROS ISLAND
...BERRY ISLANDS...BIMINI...ELEUTHERA...GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND...
AND NEW PROVIDENCE.

A TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE WATCH MAY BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN FLORIDA LATER TONIGHT.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 5 PM EDT...2100Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWELVE WAS
ESTIMATED NEAR LATITUDE 23.2 NORTH... LONGITUDE 75.5 WEST OR ABOUT
175 MILES... 280 KM... SOUTHEAST OF NASSAU.

THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH
...13 KM/HR...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR
THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS INDICATED BY RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT DATA
AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS ARE NEAR 35 MPH... 55 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...
AND THE DEPRESSION COULD BECOME A TROPICAL STORM BY WEDNESDAY.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1007 MB...29.74 INCHES.

TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER
PORTIONS OF THE BAHAMAS...AND ALONG THE NORTHERN COAST OF CUBA...
WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 8 INCHES POSSIBLE ALONG THE
NORTHERN COAST OF CUBA.

STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...
ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED
NEAR THE CENTER IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS IN THE BAHAMAS.

REPEATING THE 5 PM EDT POSITION...23.2 N... 75.5 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS... 35 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1007 MB.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 8 PM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT
COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 11 PM EDT.

[HURAKAN]

The Storm of the Decade.

[jinftl]

Most folks probably forget that there was a discussion on how to name this system.....td 10 or td 12 (presumably td 11 formed elsewhere in the interim). Just goes to show that even the 'baddest of the bad' storms sometimes have starts and stops and stumble in development at times.


THE NWS RULES GOVERNING THE NAMING OF TROPICAL CYCLONES SPECIFY
THAT...WITHIN A BASIN...WHEN A CYCLONE FORMS FROM THE REMNANT OF A
PREVIOUSLY EXISTING CYCLONE...THE OLD NAME/NUMBER IS RETAINED.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWELVE HAS A COMPLEX GENESIS THAT LIKELY
INCLUDES A MID-LEVEL REMNANT OF FORMER TROPICAL DEPRESSION TEN. A
REVIEW OF SATELLITE AND RAWINSONDE DATA OVER THE PAST WEEK OR SO
SUGGESTS THAT A SECOND DISTURBANCE APPROACHED AND COMBINED WITH THE
MID-LEVEL REMNANT OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION TEN ON 20 AUGUST. BECAUSE
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE WHICH OF THESE TWO SYSTEMS IS
ASSOCIATED WITH TODAY'S GENESIS...WE HAVE ELECTED TO USE THE
DESIGNATION TWELVE RATHER THAN TEN FOR THE NEW DEPRESSION. THIS
SITUATION DIFFERS FROM LAST YEAR'S REGENERATION OF IVAN...IN WHICH
THE LOW-LEVEL REMNANT OF THAT SYSTEM REMAINED A DISTINCT FEATURE
THAT COULD BE FOLLOWED CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL IT REGENERATED.

[HURAKAN]

TS Watch issued for SE Florida

[Plant grower]

Katrina is something I will always remember. Four years ago today here in NewOrleans none of us knew what was coming. But, I did have a strong feeling Katrina would be our storm.

[Jinkers]

I'll never forget the news stories once we got our power back, our power was out about 2 days here in south florida after Katrina came thru, but when I saw the devestation in NO, I'll never forget those images...

[Scorpion]

Wow, its amazing how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday.

[HURAKAN]

[Dionne]

1836 people killed, 705 missing. One of the 705 is a friend and former employee. Derek Teasley. It like he vanished off the face of the Earth. His mother is certain he is dead as he always called home at Christmas.

[HURAKAN]

TS Katrina develops and Hurricane Watch is issued for SE Florida

[HURAKAN]

TROPICAL STORM KATRINA ADVISORY NUMBER 4
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 AM EDT WED AUG 24 2005

...DEPRESSION STRENGTHENS INTO TROPICAL STORM KATRINA OVER THE
CENTRAL BAHAMAS...
...HURRICANE WATCH AND TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED FOR FLORIDA...

AT 11 AM EDT...1500Z...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE
WATCH HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR THE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA COAST FROM VERO
BEACH SOUTHWARD TO FLORIDA CITY. THIS REPLACES THE TROPICAL STORM
WATCH. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL AND
NORTHWEST BAHAMAS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL
STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE MIDDLE AND UPPER
FLORIDA KEYS FROM WEST OF THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE NORTHWARD TO SOUTH
OF FLORIDA CITY. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM
CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36
HOURS.

A WATCH OR WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR LAKE OKEECHOBEE LATER TODAY.
A HURRICANE WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST
BAHAMAS LATER TODAY.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 11 AM EDT...1500Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM KATRINA WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.7 NORTH... LONGITUDE 76.7 WEST OR ABOUT 50
MILES... 80 KM... EAST-SOUTHEAST OF NASSAU AND ABOUT 230 MILES...
375 KM...EAST-SOUTHEAST OF SOUTHEAST COAST OF FLORIDA.

KATRINA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH
...13 KM/HR. A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AT A SLIGHTLY
SLOWER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR LATER TODAY. THIS MOTION
SHOULD BRING THE CENTER THROUGH THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST BAHAMAS
LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.

EARLIER REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT
INDICATED MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAD INCREASED TO NEAR 40 MPH...
65 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES
...110 KM...MAINLY EAST OF THE CENTER.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1006 MB...29.71 INCHES.

DUE TO ITS SLOW FORWARD SPEED...KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A
SIGNIFICANT HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT OVER THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST
BAHAMAS...AND SOUTH FLORIDA... WITH TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF
6 TO 12 INCHES AND ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 TO 20 INCHES
POSSIBLE.

STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...
ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES... CAN BE EXPECTED
NEAR THE CENTER IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS IN THE BAHAMAS.

REPEATING THE 11 AM EDT POSITION...24.7 N... 76.7 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS... 40 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1006 MB.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 2 PM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE
ADVISORY AT 5 PM EDT.

FORECASTER STEWART

[Ptarmigan]

A truly tragic disaster.

[Category 5]

August 28th, was a sunny sunday afternoon. I woke up to a cat 5. My reaction is inappropriate for the board.

It was like a bad dream, this was the storm I had written a paper about my freshman year of high school (a NOLA disaster) unfolding before my eyes. There was a large Category 5 Hurricane heading for New Orleans, the worst case scenario was unfolding.

The frightening part of it all, it was FAR from the worst case scenario.

[jinftl]

4 years ago...

[Macrocane]

Oh yes I remember reading on the newspaper why New Orleans was on a big danger. I was watching the news the whole day that Sunday.

[attallaman]

4 years ago...

Looking at that map does give me the chills and also bring back some vivid memories. I was near Jackson, MS four years ago today and I wasn't far enough to the north to escape Katrina's fury either. I hope I never have to experience such a major weather event ever again in my lifetime.

[jinftl]

Great Katrina videos from Mark Sudduth and Mike Watkins

Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaetBNv2xSo

Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJgeOF7NM8c

[attallaman]

Great Katrina videos from Mark Sudduth and Mike Watkins

Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaetBNv2xSo

Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJgeOF7NM8c

Those were good videos. I managed to catch up on news coverage on Katrina post Katrina by watching many videos on YouTube. There's also a video on YouTube where another storm chaser was set up in the parking garage at the Beau Rivage Casino hotel where he taped the storm surge coming in across U.S. 90 four years ago today, that was something.

[mpic]

It's one of those days that will never be forgotten even for people not directly involved. I couldn't believe my ears...New Orleans was gone. More than I could wrap my mind around.

[Dionne]

4 years ago this morning......we had laid the crane down yesterday and planned to take the day off and watch TWC while doing a BBQ. After all, we were 80 miles inland. Little did we know that by 11AM our entire infrastructure would go down. Just about the time my daughter called from Hattiesburg telling us trees were falling on our home......three cars had been crushed in the driveway by treefall and evacuation was currently impossible.