Hurricane Katrina

The monster storm Katrina raged ashore along the Gulf Coast Monday morning with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, driving rain and huge battering waves, expected to top 28 feet in some locations.

There were early reports of buildings collapsing along the coast, roofs blowing apart and windows flying out of office buildings. New Orleans' Superdome, serving as a shelter for about 10,000 people, lost power and was leaking from the roof, parts of which flew off.

Read the story:

Katrina Rages Across Gulf Coast, High Waves, Powerful Winds Lash Region (The Post, Aug. 29)

Scott Kiser, tropical cyclone program manager at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration) was online Monday, Aug. 29, at Noon ET to discuss the latest information on Hurricane Katrina.

A transcript follows.

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washiongtonpost.com: Scott Kiser, thank you for being with us on this busy day. Please give us the latest information on the path of Hurricane Katrina and what the Gulf region can expect in the next several hours.

Scott Kiser: Damaging winds and heavy rain will continue pounding the north-central Gulf Coast states. As Katrina moves inland into Mississippi, winds will gradually weaken as the storm is removed from its source of energy - the warm ocean water. Still, hurricane conditions will be felt well inland from this large and powerful hurricane. Updates on Katrina, the storm itself and local impacts can be obtained from the Web site of NOAA's National Hurricane Center at www.nhc.noaa.gov

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Washington, D.C.: Where is the eye of the storm right now?

Scott Kiser: At 11am ET, Katrina was centered 35 miles east-north of New Orleans and was moving north at 16 mph.

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washingtonpost.com: National Hurricane Center

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Washington, D.C.: Thanks for taking some of your currently very valuable time to chat. Some of the Katrina coverage has mentioned that the "upper-left" quadrant of a hurricane is often the most dangerous. Why is that?

Scott Kiser: The right side (relative to storm movement) is typically the strong part of a tropical storm or hurricane. This is where the speed of the storm's motion is added to the winds the storm produces. For example, Katrina was producing top winds of 125 mph at 11 a.m. ET and was moving north at 15 mph. Therefore, it's possible that winds of 140 mph can be felt to the right of the storm's center in extreme eastern Louisiana and Mississippi.

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Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C.: How much rain will we get here in D.C. after the hurricane moves on? Winds? I usually walk 1.5 miles to work ... should I start saving up for the bus?

Scott Kiser: Katrina's future path takes it into the Ohio Valley and well west of Washington, DC. However, rain chances will be on the increase in the DC area through midweek.

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Washington, D.C.: Has there been any significant flooding within New Orleans?

Scott Kiser: With the storm still impacting the region, it's too soon to tell what has been occurring, however, the media has been reporting significant street flooding in parts of New Orleans and in Mississippi. As the wind and rain diminishes, expect pictures to begin coming out the region.

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Iowa: What sort of instruments/devices does your organization use to track the path, speed, velocity, etc., of a hurricane of this magnitude? Are the ground-based instruments strong enough the withstand the punch that Katrina is packing this morning?

Scott Kiser: A network of ground-based instruments and NOAA Doppler radars tell us how strong and large the storm is. Up to landfall, NOAA and Air Force planes fly into, over and around storms to measure their intensity - it's too dangerous to do so while the storm is over land.

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Arlington, Va.: Is the occurrence of all these hurricanes cyclical over time, or are we seeing an increase in the number of storms and stronger storms that has some other explanation? global warming?

Scott Kiser: Of the last 11 hurricanes season, nine have produced an above-normal number of tropical storms and hurricanes. This is part of a cycle that has been observed in the past and one that can last for several more decades.

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Washington, D.C.: Your title, I see, is Tropical Cyclone manager. Is Katrina a cyclone or a hurricane?

Scott Kiser: Katrina is a hurricane. Cyclone is the generic term of all tropical systems, whether it be tropical storms/hurricanes, typhoons (as in the western Pacific) or cyclones (as seen in Australia).

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Federalsburg, Md.: I know it's premature, but how do you rank Katrina, at least in history of Gulf storms? Apparently it broke a Gulf record for hurricane low pressure (902 mb); I think Camille recorded 906 20 miles inland from Pass Christian

Scott Kiser: Katrina's lowest central pressure was recorded at 902 millibars on Sunday, based on preliminary data. This would rank Katrina as the most intense hurricane measured in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth most intense for the entire Atlantic Basin (Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico).

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Lexington, Ky.: Does it appear that the biggest part of the storm surge will hit Mississippi now?

Scott Kiser: Local offices of NOAA's National Weather Service issue a product called the Hurricane Local Statement that outlines the specific impacts for a region impacted by a tropical storm or hurricane. Statements produce by office along the Gulf Coast can be found online at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/index_hls2.shtml

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Silver Spring, Md.: Hello, I was watching the weather channel yesterday, when Katrina was a Cat. 5 and they were speaking about how powerful the storm was. In speaking of this, the weatherman said something along the lines that it is so strong, "it is like a typhoon". I thought typhoons were exactly the same as hurricanes other than their geographic location. Are typhoons stronger? Did he just misspeak?

Scott Kiser: Typhoons and hurricane are the same, with exception to their location. Hurricanes are called typhoons west of the International Dateline (180 degree longitude).

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washingtonpost.com: National Hurricane Center/Hurricane Local Statements for Katrina

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Pittsburgh, Pa.: Could the weather services have better predicted the devastating nature of this storm? It just seems like last Wednesday, Katrina was barely a category 1, then I woke up yesterday and it had become a class 5 with talk of devastation of biblical proportion. It just seems as though the people of the Gulf Coast had very little warning of the storms potential leaving them very little time to prepare and evacuate.

Scott Kiser: NOAA forecasters were accurate in predicting Katrina. First, Katrina was predicted to become a hurricane before hitting South Florida and a hurricane warning was issued. Katrina did strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane with top sustained winds of 80 mph before hitting the Miami area. The next day, forecasters began saying Katrina would then strike southeast Louisiana - where landfall actually occurred this morning. The advanced notice gave Gulf Coast residents and emergency manager a full two days to prepare for this storm.

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South Riding, Va.: I know that we are still early in the season. What happens if they run out of names? Do they just start over with next year's list?

Scott Kiser: The final storm name on this year's list is Wilma. If we pass that, we then move onto the Greek Alphabet, starting with Alpha. For more on storm names, visit NOAA's National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

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washingtonpost.com: National Hurricane Center/Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names

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Scott Kiser: Hurricanes, like Katrina, remind us of how vulnerable we can be to their power. While we cannot stop these storms, we can take steps to reduce their impacts. Before a hurricane threatens, make sure you have an emergency kit and evacuation plan. Know that hurricanes are not just a point, but are sprawling storms that can span hundreds of miles. And hurricanes are not just coastal storms. Inland areas can be impacted from flooding rainfall and tornadoes. Be vigilant, stay tuned to forecasts produced by NOAA ( http://www.noaa.gov) and heed the advice and warnings of emergency officials. Thank you for having me online today!

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washingtonpost.com: NOAA

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