What strength were the winds for Hurricane Katrina?
Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to impact the coast of the United States during the past 100 years. It was the most destructive and expensive natural disaster in the history of the United States, with estimated total economic losses in excess of $125 billion and insured losses of $35 billion [8]. On August 25, 2005, the storm made its first landfall on the southeast coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. It then crossed south Florida and moved into the Gulf of Mexico, where it gained strength to a Category 5 hurricane, although it weakened before making its second landfall. According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Hurricane Katrina made its second landfall on August 29, 2005 as a strong Category 3 storm in southeast Louisiana near Buras, with 1-minute sustained winds estimated at 127 miles per hour (mph). After coming ashore in Louisiana, Katrina continued to move northeastward across Breton Sound, to make a third landfall near Pearlington, Mississi
