Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) became a large and extremely powerful hurricane that caused enormous destruction and significant loss of life. A NASA retrospective of Hurricane Katrina build-up done on the five-year anniversary.

The data is from August 23 through 30, 2005. The colors on the ocean represent the sea surface temperatures, and satellite images of the hurricane clouds are laid over the temperatures to clearly show the hurricane positions. It is the costliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, surpassing the record previously held by Hurricane Andrew from 1992. Hurricane Katrina's record-setting storm surge along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and overwhelming of the flood protection system in New Orleans on August 29, 2005 is burned in memory. Potential Intensity. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane that hit Louisiana on August 29, 2005. This visualization shows the cold water trail left by Hurricane Katrina.   It was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. What about the storms themselves?

Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 storm that made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast in August 2006.

This overview describes Hurricane Katrina and the science behind the disaster. Topics include hurricane history in the Gulf Coast, the geologic setting of the area affected by Hurricane Katrina, the science of the storm, the storm surge and flooding in New Orleans and the damage incurred by Hurricane Katrina. It impacted 93,000 square miles.