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All storm pages · 2005 Atlantic season

Hurricane Katrina 2005

Category 5 hurricane · Atlantic · August 23 to August 30, 2005

Katrina's central pressure fell to 902 mb, the ninth-lowest among the 1,277 Atlantic storms with a recorded pressure. It reached Category 5 with 175 mph winds, one of 44 Atlantic storms to do so since 1851. It came ashore in Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29, 2005, with 125 mph winds. The name Katrina is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Katrina (2005) from the best-track record, coloured by strength25°N30°N35°N40°N95°W90°W85°W80°W75°W70°WFlorida, 80 mphLouisiana, 125 mphPeak 175 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 4Category 500 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Katrina (2005) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160200Aug 24Aug 25Aug 26Aug 27Aug 28Aug 29Aug 30Aug 31mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 155 miles north-northeast of Banes, Holguín, Cuba
  2. Tropical storm 65 miles southeast of Nassau, the Bahamas
  3. Hurricane 10 miles south-southeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  4. Landfall Florida: Category 1, 80 mph, 984 mb
  5. Major hurricane 150 miles north-northwest of Pinar del Rio, Cuba
  6. Peak 260 miles south-southeast of Houma, Louisiana
  7. Landfall Louisiana
  8. Landfall Louisiana: Category 3, 120 mph, 928 mb
  9. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 35 miles northeast of New Albany, Indiana
  10. Last record 10 miles north-northeast of Columbus, Ohio

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind175 mph · tied 11th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure902 mb · 9th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy20.0 · 240th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone7.0 days · tied 563rd of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

More from the record

Its winds climbed 60 mph in the 24 hours to August 28.

In the 2005 season

04080120160200Katrina

Storm 12 of 31 in 2005, hurricane 5 of 15; it formed after Jose and before Lee. Katrina produced 8% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy and ranks third by peak wind. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Clarksville, Tennessee1 mi35 mphAugust 30
Miami, Florida9 mi80 mphAugust 25
Tupelo, Mississippi9 mi45 mphAugust 30
Fort Lauderdale, Florida10 mi80 mphAugust 25
Miami Beach, Florida10 mi80 mphAugust 25
Slidell, Louisiana11 mi120 mphAugust 29
Coral Gables, Florida11 mi80 mphAugust 26
Hattiesburg, Mississippi13 mi85 mphAugust 29

Every storm within 50 miles of Miami, Florida

Similar landfalls in Louisiana

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Louisiana came closest to Katrina's 125 mph:

  • Audrey (1957)125 mph, June 27, 1957
  • Storm 6 of 1915125 mph, September 29, 1915
  • Storm 4 of 1879125 mph, September 1, 1879
  • Storm 1 of 1860125 mph, August 11, 1860

All 98 storms with a landfall record in Louisiana

Also peaked at 175 mph

Of 9 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time: