Mobile version

Katrina 2005: hurricane intensification

Hurricane Katrina devastated coastal areas of Louisiana and Mississippi causing the flooding of New Orleans in late August 2005. Sea Surface temperatures on August 28, 2005, in the Gulf of Mexico exhibited values larger than 26°C, a necessary but not sufficient condition needed to create and sustain a hurricane, over most of the Gulf.
Because the sea surface temperatures are mostly homogeneous throughout the region, they do not reveal warm and deep features, such as the Loop Current (cf Image of the Month, April 2003 : A looping current) and its associated anticyclonic (warm) rings, which have temperatures larger than 26°C reaching depths of tens of meters. On the other hand, satellite altimetry can easily identify these features as positive sea height anomalies .
After hurricane force winds erode the sea surface temperatures by mixing the surface waters with cooler deeper waters, the eye of the hurricane (the only part of the hurricane that takes energy from the ocean) 'sees' temperatures of the mixed layer. For most of the Gulf, this temperature probably decreases below 26°C, while for the Loop Current and warm rings it remains above 26°C, highlighting the fact that they are very large reservoirs of heat which remain in the Gulf of Mexico for long periods of time.
The Loop Current and warm rings are believed to have an influence on hurricane intensification, and even on hurricane trajectories. However, further analysis of atmospheric and ocean observations (including those obtained from altimetry) and models of this hurricane will be necessary to establish the precise role that the ocean played in the intensification of Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico. These type of studies will aid decision makers by providing more accurate information to give advance warning to inhabitants in coastal areas.

Sea level anomalies (left) and hurricane heat potential computed from altimetry (right) on August 28, 2005, with trajectory and intensity of Katrina overlayed. Intensification of Katrina seems to match its crossing over the Loop current. (Credits Noaa/AOML).

 

EnglishFrançais
Rss feedsContactPartnersFAQLexiconLegal noticePersonal Data Protection PolicyMobile
You must enable cookies in your browser preferences to save the modifications
You are using an older version of Internet Explorer, please update to take full advantage of Aviso+ features

Customize the home page

View all widgets
Reduce display
Public profile
User profile

Select/Deselect widgets

Discover AVISO+

Customizable home, reading tools, products search guide, etc.. Discover step by step the features of the new site AVISO+.

Customizable homepage

This home page is composed of blocks called "widgets".

Rearrange the blocks with a "Click & Drop".

Hide a widget with the cross at the top right. Reset or add a widget with the "wrench" icon. The "User" and "Public" profiles offer a predefined organization.

All the modifications are automatically saved as cookies on your machine so as to enable you to have your own specific AVISO+.

Reading tools

Ease your reading by choosing the page background colour (black/white) and/or by modifying the font size.

Browsing menu and breadcrum trail

To ease your browsing through AVISO+, you can use at any time the main banner items with the interactive submenus or use the browsing menu on the left side of the screen (it is open by default). For more readiness of the page contents, you can fold and unfold the browsing menu by clicking on the tab. At any time you can know where you are thanks to the browsing menu or the breadcrum at the top of the page.

Products search guide

The first submenu of the "Data" banner item leads you to a new search form enabling you to find quickier the product that suits your needs. The list of results is updated according to your selection criteria.

AVISO+ Multimedia

The first submenu of the "Multimedia" banner item leads you to AVISO+ collections of images and videos linked to altimetry and its applications. Have a nice visit!