Katrina had twice as much energy as Camielle (Powell, 2007)

[Derek Ortt]

http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?req ... S-88-4-513

This article is from the latest BAMS and is free to all. Shows just how destructive Katrina truly was compared to Katrina (also analyzes Camielle as a cat 4, but that is not the point of the article... a cat 5 initializaton would NOT have changed the calculations significantly). Also shows that despite Katrina undergoing its unexpected rapid weakening before landfall, the destructive potential DID NOT CHANGE

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Doesn't surprise me, with Katrina having much larger area of convection,
a much larger area of more intense convection, a substantial storm surge,
and very warm loop current waters to feed on.

[Ptarmigan]

I am not surprised how powerful Katrina was. Katrina was a true monster. Katrina was a massive hurricane. I wonder how Katrina compares to typhoons, like Tip (1979) or Gay (1992)? I noticed in the article that Wilma's wind damage potential rating was lower, even at her peak of 882 mb and 185 mph. On the other hand, Katrina's was the highest at her peak of 902 mb and 175 mph. Wilma at her peak was smaller than Katrina, which was a monster. It also had a chart and Katrina appears to be the largest. Part of Katrina was from TD 10 and started as a midget hurricane and hit Florida, than exploded into a monster. It is so scary.

[MGC]

"Destructive potential did not change" I'd have hate to have seen the damage if Katrina came in as a 175MPH Cat-5!!!!...MGC

[Derek Ortt]

had it have maintained its size and intensity from about 1200-2100 UTC on Aug 28, the overall damage would likely have been similar.

It would have been more destructive had the winds remained 175 and the storm enlargened. However, I do not believe it would have been by as much as I previously thought, since peak winds are only a small contribution to the overall calculations

[Aslkahuna]

Katrina would have come in as a slightly larger than average sized typhoon and with 902 mb would have been a 135/140kt Supertyphoon. In terms of size, Katrina would be no comparison to Tip and I believe was larger than Gay. Typhoons as a general rule tend to be larger than their Atlantic counterparts and there have been some real monsters in terms of size out there. STY Carla in 1967 brough 55kt gusts to Mactan Island a full 600 nautical miles from the Center which was over far northern Luzon.

Steve

[Ptarmigan]

Katrina would have come in as a slightly larger than average sized typhoon and with 902 mb would have been a 135/140kt Supertyphoon. In terms of size, Katrina would be no comparison to Tip and I believe was larger than Gay. Typhoons as a general rule tend to be larger than their Atlantic counterparts and there have been some real monsters in terms of size out there. STY Carla in 1967 brough 55kt gusts to Mactan Island a full 600 nautical miles from the Center which was over far northern Luzon.

Steve

Typhoons are larger because of they have more water to work with and less land interaction. I am amazed that Katrina grew from a midget hurricane into a violent monster. Katrina has to be one of the largest Atlantic hurricanes. I know hurricanes that go into extratropical phases get larger. However, Katrina did not go through an extratropical phase at her peak. I saw satellite image of STY Gay and it did not look quite that large. I know Gay was very strong, possibly as strong as Tip. Tip was a monster for sure. Seen satellite images of them. Blew me away all I can say. I wonder what the smallest typhoon is?

[Derek Ortt]

compared to Wilma in the Bahamas, Katrina was small. Wilma in the Bahamas may have been one of the largest Atl hurricane ever

[Ptarmigan]

compared to Wilma in the Bahamas, Katrina was small. Wilma in the Bahamas may have been one of the largest Atl hurricane ever

Wasn't Wilma over the Bahamas undergoing an extratropical transition? I actually looked at the advisiories and TS force winds extended up to 260 miles east of Florida and over Bahamas. I would be interested in knowing how large Wilma was at the time.

[Aslkahuna]

Vamei was probably the smallest typhoon on record being less than 100 miles across. There was a 1967 typhoon that hit Mactan Island in 1967 that was only 100 miles across. Katrina was most assuredly large for an ATL hurricane but not the largest by amy means-it was smaller than Carla 1961 which takes second to the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944. Gay was not an especially large typhoon but is one of three storms that got a higher Dvorak rating than Tip.

Steve

[Ptarmigan]

Vamei was probably the smallest typhoon on record being less than 100 miles across. There was a 1967 typhoon that hit Mactan Island in 1967 that was only 100 miles across. Katrina was most assuredly large for an ATL hurricane but not the largest by amy means-it was smaller than Carla 1961 which takes second to the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944. Gay was not an especially large typhoon but is one of three storms that got a higher Dvorak rating than Tip.

Steve

I remember Vamei. It was small I remember. Not bad considering it formed near the equator. Carla was truly a monster and it hit Texas. I question the pressure reading with Carla though. Texas sure lives up to its name. I really do not trust the Dvorak rating much. Assuming Gay had 872 mb and it was not a large typhoon, the winds could of been as high as 195 mph. Of course this is all speculative.