Katrina, one of the deadliest hurricanes on record to hit the United States, first formed as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa.
What started as Tropical Depression Twelve on Aug. 23, 2005, over the Greater Antilles would soon become one of the deadliest hurricanes on record to hit the United States.
Traveling through southeastern Florida, up into the Gulf Coast and eventually disintegrating over the Ohio Valley, nothing could prepare those in Katrina’s path for what they are still reeling from to this day, 20 years later. How Hurricane Katrina formed
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa into the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 11, 2005, on a westward path. As it crossed the Central Atlantic and eventually reached the Leeward Islands, on Aug. 19 it combined with the remnants of what was once Tropical Depression Ten.
The tropical wave dominated the interaction and began to form a large area of organized thunderstorms over parts of Puerto Rico.
At 2 p.m. ET on Aug. 23, Tropical Depression Twelve formed as a distinct center of circulation and was strengthening about 175 nautical miles southeast of Nassau, Bahamas.
As hurricane hunters investigated the storm system, Katrina received its name when it strengthened into a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph on Aug. 24, 2005, at 8 a.m. ET, about 65 nautical miles east-southeast of Nassau.
Tropical Storm Katrina continued on a west-northwestward path toward Florida, as residents had minimal time to prepare. Katrina became a hurricane at 5 p.m. ET on Aug. 25, 2005, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. A Category 1 hurricane has a sustained wind speed of 74-95 mph.
Katrina became a hurricane less than 2 hours before it made landfall in Southern Florida. Katrina made landfall in the U.S. three times
Also known as «the forgotten landfall», the first of three landfalls was made on Aug. 25, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. ET in Hollywood, Florida, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It spent about 6 hours overnight traveling through the state of Florida, mostly impacting the Florida Everglades. As it had no fuel source over land, it quickly weakened back down to tropical storm status overnight with 69 mph winds.
As Katrina continued on its westward path and eventually reached the Gulf, it quickly regained strength.
