Rita Cat 4 over shelf water?

[karenfromheaven]

I understand the concept behind the oceanic heat content idea, which is that the energy drawn from the water by a hurricane depends not only on the water temperature, but also upon how much water is physically present at that temperature. So that shallow water, or deep water with a shallow layer of warmth on top, has less energy to contribute to the storm than warm, deep water. If this is indeed true, then I have trouble understanding how Katrina managed to maintain her strength while crossing the shallow waters of the Everglades in south FL. And the storm was able to do this despite the additional frictional effects of swamp vegetation. Comments?

[BReb]

Katrina was a category 1 over the Everglades- it's much easier to maintain that strength than a higher category strength.