Hurricane Katrina slams mainland U.S.

Hurricane warnings have been up for some time as the eye of Hurricane Katrina hits mainland this morning and the storm blasts the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the western edge of the Florida Panhandle preceded and accompanied by heavy rains, severe weather, and winds well in excess of 130 m.p.h. A storm surge of 15 to nearly 30 feet combined with 5 to 10 inch rainfall totals will result in widespread flooding. The storm is a monster with hurricane-force winds (75 m.p.h.) extending 100 miles from the eye, and tropical storm-force winds (40-74 m.p.h.) another 130 miles out. Katrina’s winds are comparable to a strong F2 (113-157 m.p.h.) or F3 (158-206 m.p.h.) tornado raging for hours on end.
As the storm moves inland and weakens, tracking north and then east up the Ohio River Valley, an extensive area of rain will spread perhaps as far north as Chicago before taking the turn east. Fair skies should prevail the last half of the week in northeast Illinois.