Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to impact the coast of the United States during the last 100 years." ("Hurricane Katrina" from NOAA) Hurricanes all start in tropical waters because they can only start in warm waters. The wind and air conditions must be just right, and once a hurricane is started it can be moved around by powerful winds. They are basically a very deadly cyclone of wind and water. They range from category 1 to category 5, with 5 being the worst. The most deadly hurricane was on September 8th, 1900 in Galveston, Texas. Hurricane Katrina was the worst storm in the past decade to hit the U.S., and caused lots of damage and got the people mad at their government. .
On August 23rd 2005 the hurricane started off as a tropical depression, but the next day it became a tropical storm. Its wind speed increased from 75 mph, to 80 mph, to 90 mph, to 125 mph in a few days time period. According to an article from NCDC "Katrina reached maximum wind speeds on the morning of Sunday August 28th of over 170 mph" (Hurricane Katrina from NOAA) It was very powerful and went from a category 1 to category 5 storm in 4 days. Since hurricanes form in warm waters some scientists have another reason for Hurricane Katrina's power. "Some scientists claim that global warming is partially to blame for the power and endurance of Hurricane Katrina" due to the fact that it's warming the oceans (Causes and Effects). They also need continued heat to exist and if the oceans are being heated up the endurance of hurricanes should be longer. So due to wind speed, and partially due to global warming, Hurricane Katrina had a strong impact on the U.coast.
New Orleans, Louisiana was the most damaged city after the hurricane. "New Orleans suffered from a large number of casualties, a lack of drinkable water, severe property damage, electrical outages and many more difficulties as a result of Hurricane Katrina.