Example Paper for HW 3

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The Meteorological Aspects and Social Impacts of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest and costliest weather disasters in American

history. The impacts of that storm can still be seen at places that were hardest hit; especially New

Orleans. However, this devastating hurricane did not begin as a monster category 5. Hurricane

Katrina started as Tropical Depression 12, which was categorized as an area of low pressure near

the Bahamas on August 23. Tropical Depression 12 formed after the dissipation of Tropical

Depression 10, by way of an upper tropospheric trough, mixed with a tropical wave north of

Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea (Morrow, 2015). The weakened trough in the upper

troposphere, combined with the reduction of wind shear allowed Tropical Depression 12 to form

and gain strength as it moved across the Caribbean Sea (where it soon became known as Tropical

Storm Katrina, with strengthening of the circulation due to increased convective activity and low

wind shear).

As Tropical Storm Katrina moved inland through Florida, it was fairly stable, and did not

lose too much energy, nor did it gain energy. It did not gain more strength until it moved into the

Gulf of Mexico where it would eventually become a Category 5 hurricane. Contrary to popular

belief, Louisiana was actually the hurricane’s second landfall and it would continue moving (and

weakening) through the Southeast U.S. for several more days after it hit coastal Louisiana. After

passing through Louisiana and Mississippi toward the Great Lakes, Hurricane Katrina (which
weakened into a tropical storm and then a depression) was absorbed by a cold front along the

U.S. Eastern Seaboard on August 31 (Morrow, 2015).

Figure 1 (below) shows the path Hurricane Katrina took from east of the Bahamas to

parts of Florida. Before the storm made landfall on the Florida coast, it was still a Tropical

Storm. However, once the storm was over the Gulf of Mexico, it gained energy from warmer

waters and reached a maximum wind speed of 175 mph, exceeding the 155-mph prerequisite to

be considered a Category 5 hurricane (Weather Underground). Once it finally reached landfall

(its second landfall) in Louisiana, the wind speeds had decreased from 175 mph to 115 mph,

indicating a Category 3 hurricane (Weather Underground). The largest fuel for a hurricane are

warm ocean waters, and after the tropical storm that would be known as Hurricane Katrina

entered the Gulf of Mexico it was no surprised why it quickly became a Category 5 hurricane

before reaching landfall.

Figure 1. A Weather Underground map that shows the path and wind speed of Hurricane Katrina
(Weather Underground, last accessed April 2017).
 Figure 2 (below) depicts a three-day average of actual sea surface temperatures for the

Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in the summer of 2005, from August 25 through August

27 to be exact. The Gulf of Mexico teeters between red and orange on the graph, and these colors

represent a temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and a hurricane only needs a sea

surface temperature of 82 degrees strengthen its power and storm surge effect (Dunbar, 2005).

Figure 2. A satellite image of the sea surface temperature and Hurricane Katrina from NASA.
(NASA, 2015).

In preparation for the impact of Hurricane Katrina, both Louisiana and Mississippi

activated their emergency response plans, which included the recommendation of evacuation for

people located in coastal cities, such as New Orleans. However, due to the socio-economic

realities of marginalized people, approximately 100,000 people were not able to evacuate New
Orleans and suffered the brunt of Katrina’s force. The intersection of the waves and storm surge

from the hurricane toppled the entire levee system in New Orleans: leading to more than 50

breaches in the system, which inevitably led to catastrophic flooding throughout the large,

metropolitan city. According to official estimates, 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded in the

days after the immediate impact of Hurricane Katrina due to the city being, primarily, below sea

level (The Data Center). The water from the storm stayed in the city because most of the pump

stations (which were installed because it is a city below sea level and is prone to flooding) were

disabled by the very storm that brought the flood waters inland to the city. In the end, over

127,000 housing units were destroyed and upwards of 200,000 citizens were permanently

displaced (Whoriskey, 2006). To put the breadth of the Katina’s impact on New Orleans into

perspective, the population of New Orleans fell from 484,674 before Katrina, per the 2000

census, to an estimated 230,172 residents 10 months after the storm (The Data Center). Over 10

years later (as of April 2017), Hurricane Katrina remains the costliest hurricane in American

history (and one of the deadliest). The storm directly lead to the death of over 1,800 people and,

according to FEMA, costs roughly $108 billion in disaster relief (CNN Library, 2016).

The social and meteorological conditions of Hurricane Katrina have been studied in the

decade since it devastated the Gulf Coast region. The unique conditions that made the hurricane

possible, to grow from a simple tropical depression to a monster Category 5, the socio-economic

realities of New Orleans, and the marginalized residents who composed the margins of the city

all coalesced to become a uniquely destructive force in contemporary American history.

References

CNN Library. "Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 23 Aug.
2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
Dunbar, Brian. "Hurricane Season 2005: Katrina." NASA. NASA, 13 Oct. 2005. Web. 16 Apr.
2017.
"Facts for Features: Katrina Impact." The Data Center. Nonprofit Knowledge Works, n.d. Web.
16 Apr. 2017.
"Major Hurricane Katrina: 08/23/2005 - 08/31/2005." Weather Underground. N.p., n.d. Web. 16
Apr. 2017.
Morrow, Ashley. "Since Katrina: NASA Advances Storm Models, Science." NASA. NASA, 21
Aug. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Whoriskey, Peter. "Katrina Displaced 400,000, Study Says." The Washington Post. WP
Company, 07 June 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.