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Hurricane Katrina strengthened to a dangerous Category 5 on Sunday with 160 mph sustained wind as residents of south Louisiana jammed freeways in a rush to get out of the way of the powerful storm.
The National Hurricane Center put out a special advisory on the hurricane's gain in strength just before 8 a.m. EDT. The boost came just hours after Katrina reached Category 4, with wind of 145 mph, as it gathered energy from the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico.
"People need to take this very seriously and get to a safe area while they can," said State Police Sgt. Frank Coates.
Katrina, blamed for nine deaths in South Florida, was expected to hit the Gulf Coast early Monday and a hurricane warning was in effect from Morgan City to the Alabama-Florida line.
At 8 a.m., Katrina's center was about 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the hurricane center said. It was moving west-northwest at about 12 mph. Hurricane force-wind of at least 74 mph extended up to 85 miles from the center.
The storm had the potential for storm surge flooding of up to 25 feet, topped with even higher waves, as much as 15 inches of rain, and tornadoes.
Hurricanes as powerful as Katrina usually make unpredictable fluctuations in strength, but all the conditions are there for the storm to still be a Category 5 when it hits the coast, said Chris Sisko, a meteorologist at the hurricane center. Even if Katrina weakened slightly, it didn't bode well for New Orleans.
"With them sitting well below sea level, this is a potential set up for a catastrophic event that has never been seen before," Sisko said.
New Orleans is especially vulnerable because it sits below sea level, and needs levees and pumps to keep out water.
"I've been here 33 years, and we've always been concerned about New Orleans," National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said before Katrina reached Category 5. "I had to let the mayor know that this storm has the potential not only to cause large property damage, but large loss of life if people don't make the right decision."
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin was exploring the idea of ordering a mandatory evacuation. President Bush had already declared a state of emergency in Louisiana.
Katrina formed in the Bahamas and ripped across South Florida on Thursday as a Category 1 storm before moving into the Gulf of Mexico where surface water temperatures were as high as 90 degrees — high-octane fuel for hurricanes.
Nagin said he spoke to a forecaster at the hurricane center who told him that "this is the storm New Orleans has feared these many years."
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test. This is the real deal," he warned Saturday. "Board up your homes, make sure you have enough medicine, make sure the car has enough gas. Do all things you normally do for a hurricane but treat this one differently because it is pointed towards New Orleans."
Making matters worse, at least 100,000 people in the city lack the transportation to get out of town. Nagin said the Superdome might be used as a shelter of last resort for people who have no cars, with city bus pick-up points around New Orleans.
"I know they're saying `Get out of town,' but I don't have any way to get out," said Hattie Johns, 74. "If you don't have no money, you can't go."
Louisiana and Mississippi made all lanes northbound on interstate highways. Mississippi declared a state of emergency and Alabama offered assistance to its neighbors. Some motels as far inland as Jackson, Miss., 150 miles north of New Orleans, were already booked up.
"We know that we're going to take the brunt of it," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "It does not bode well for southeastern Louisiana."
Some tourists heeded the warnings and moved up their departures, and lines of tourists waited for cabs on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street.
"The problem is getting a taxi to the airport. There aren't any," Brian Katz, a salesman from New York, said Saturday.
But plenty of people in the French Quarter stayed put, and bars were rocking Saturday night.
"The only dangerous hurricanes so far are the ones we've been drinking," said Fred Wilson of San Francisco, as he sipped one of the famous drinks at Pat O'Brien's Bar. "We can't get out, so we might as well have fun."
New Orleans' worst hurricane disaster happened 40 years ago, when Hurricane Betsy blasted the Gulf Coast. Flooding approached 20 feet deep in some areas, fishing villages were flattened, and the storm surge left almost half of New Orleans under water and 60,000 residents homeless. Seventy-four people died in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
Katrina is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. That's seven more than typically have formed by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. The season ends Nov. 30.
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On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
The National Hurricane Center put out a special advisory on the hurricane's gain in strength just before 8 a.m. EDT. The boost came just hours after Katrina reached Category 4, with wind of 145 mph, as it gathered energy from the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico.
"People need to take this very seriously and get to a safe area while they can," said State Police Sgt. Frank Coates.
Katrina, blamed for nine deaths in South Florida, was expected to hit the Gulf Coast early Monday and a hurricane warning was in effect from Morgan City to the Alabama-Florida line.
At 8 a.m., Katrina's center was about 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the hurricane center said. It was moving west-northwest at about 12 mph. Hurricane force-wind of at least 74 mph extended up to 85 miles from the center.
The storm had the potential for storm surge flooding of up to 25 feet, topped with even higher waves, as much as 15 inches of rain, and tornadoes.
Hurricanes as powerful as Katrina usually make unpredictable fluctuations in strength, but all the conditions are there for the storm to still be a Category 5 when it hits the coast, said Chris Sisko, a meteorologist at the hurricane center. Even if Katrina weakened slightly, it didn't bode well for New Orleans.
"With them sitting well below sea level, this is a potential set up for a catastrophic event that has never been seen before," Sisko said.
New Orleans is especially vulnerable because it sits below sea level, and needs levees and pumps to keep out water.
"I've been here 33 years, and we've always been concerned about New Orleans," National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said before Katrina reached Category 5. "I had to let the mayor know that this storm has the potential not only to cause large property damage, but large loss of life if people don't make the right decision."
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin was exploring the idea of ordering a mandatory evacuation. President Bush had already declared a state of emergency in Louisiana.
Katrina formed in the Bahamas and ripped across South Florida on Thursday as a Category 1 storm before moving into the Gulf of Mexico where surface water temperatures were as high as 90 degrees — high-octane fuel for hurricanes.
Nagin said he spoke to a forecaster at the hurricane center who told him that "this is the storm New Orleans has feared these many years."
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test. This is the real deal," he warned Saturday. "Board up your homes, make sure you have enough medicine, make sure the car has enough gas. Do all things you normally do for a hurricane but treat this one differently because it is pointed towards New Orleans."
Making matters worse, at least 100,000 people in the city lack the transportation to get out of town. Nagin said the Superdome might be used as a shelter of last resort for people who have no cars, with city bus pick-up points around New Orleans.
"I know they're saying `Get out of town,' but I don't have any way to get out," said Hattie Johns, 74. "If you don't have no money, you can't go."
Louisiana and Mississippi made all lanes northbound on interstate highways. Mississippi declared a state of emergency and Alabama offered assistance to its neighbors. Some motels as far inland as Jackson, Miss., 150 miles north of New Orleans, were already booked up.
"We know that we're going to take the brunt of it," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "It does not bode well for southeastern Louisiana."
Some tourists heeded the warnings and moved up their departures, and lines of tourists waited for cabs on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street.
"The problem is getting a taxi to the airport. There aren't any," Brian Katz, a salesman from New York, said Saturday.
But plenty of people in the French Quarter stayed put, and bars were rocking Saturday night.
"The only dangerous hurricanes so far are the ones we've been drinking," said Fred Wilson of San Francisco, as he sipped one of the famous drinks at Pat O'Brien's Bar. "We can't get out, so we might as well have fun."
New Orleans' worst hurricane disaster happened 40 years ago, when Hurricane Betsy blasted the Gulf Coast. Flooding approached 20 feet deep in some areas, fishing villages were flattened, and the storm surge left almost half of New Orleans under water and 60,000 residents homeless. Seventy-four people died in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
Katrina is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. That's seven more than typically have formed by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. The season ends Nov. 30.
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On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
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