Five years later, NASA is revisiting Hurricane Katrina with a short video that shows the storm as captured by NASA satellites. NASA provides space-based satellite observations, field research missions, and computer climate modeling to further scientists’ understanding of these storms. NASA also provides measurements and modeling of global sea surface temperatures, precipitation, winds and ocean heat content — all ingredients that contribute to the formation of tropical cyclones

On Aug. 29, 2005, after passing over the Caribbean and Florida, Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. As hurricanes go, Katrina was actually only moderate in size when it reached the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts, having weakened from a category 5 the day before. However, Katrina had a very wide footprint, which caused a broad area of large ocean swells to develop within the Gulf of Mexico. As the hurricane made its final landfall, the resulting storm surge was massive and unrelenting. Ultimately, this storm surge was responsible for much of the damage as it flooded coastal communities, overwhelmed levees, and left at least 80 percent of New Orleans underwater.

The eighth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season formed during the early morning hours of August 20, and the GOES-11 satellite captured infrared images of its birth.

Tropical Depression 8E (TD8E) this morning. TD8 poses no threat to land, and is forecast to keep moving away from land over the weekend.

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, TD8E had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph and was moving northwest at 7 mph. It is expected to turn to the west-northwest tonight and Saturday. It is located about 230 miles west of Manzanillo, Mexico, near 18.7 North and 107.8 West. TD8 has a minimum central pressure of 1004 millibars. TD8 could strengthen into a tropical storm for a brief time before it runs into cooler waters (cooler than 27 degrees Celsius or 80 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend. If TD8E becomes a tropical storm, it will get the name “Frank.”

Tropical Depression 5 (TD5) extended from Louisiana northeast into southwest Alabama. Infrared imagery indicated some strong thunderstorms over south central Louisiana and northwest Alabama.

on August 18 at 19:23 UTC (3:23 p.m. EDT). In the image showers and clouds stretched from Louisiana northeast into Tennessee. The clouds over Louisiana and southern Alabama were part of TD5. The clouds and showers in north central Alabama and Tennessee were generated by a shortwave trough (elongated area of low pressure) moving through Tennessee.

During the time of the AIRS image, the strongest thunderstorms and convection (rapidly rising air that forms thunderstorms) were located over south central Louisiana and north central Alabama. Both of those areas experienced heavy rainfall at that time yesterday.

On August 19 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, the lingering remnants of Tropical Depression 5, were over southern Mississippi. TD5’s remnants are forecast to drift slowly eastward today and bring numerous showers and thunderstorms to southwestern Alabama. The heavy rainfall has been producing flash flooding over Mississippi. Flooding is now possible today over southwestern Alabama because of the remnants slow motion.

Tropical Depression Five’s remnants continue to linger over Louisiana and Mississippi, and NASA satellite data continues to capture its cloud temperatures and extent. The slow moving remnants and an associated tropical air mass are expected to creep across the Louisiana and Mississippi and into Arkansas for the next couple of days.

Tropical Depression Five’s (TD5) remnants remain over the lower Mississippi valley today and are slowly drifting northeast. Yesterday, NASA satellite imagery observed the bulk of TD5’s precipitation just south of Louisiana, over the Gulf of Mexico. Today, August 18, that precipitation has moved north and is drenching east-central Louisiana and western Mississippi.

A flash flood watch was issued for today and this evening for much of central Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana due to the risk for very heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of tropical depression five. Two to three inches of rainfall and locally higher amounts of greater than five inches will be possible.

Today, August 17, TD5’s remnants moved inland over the western Mississippi Gulf Coast during the early morning hours (EDT), so the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. noted that there is now a “near zero chance” that TD5’s remnants will reform into a tropical depression. That doesn’t mean that the Gulf coast will be devoid of effects, however.

The three-hour rainfall accumulation map created today, August 17 for the three hour period of rainfall from Aug. 16 at 11 p.m. EDT to Aug. 17 at 2 a.m. EDT showed the heaviest rainfall over southeastern and south central Louisiana where rainfall between .3 and .4 inches (6-8 millimeters) fell early this morning.

Just as TD5 moved inland this weekend over Louisiana and Mississippi and brought heavy rainfall, its bringing them back for an encore performance. Locally heavy rainfall and occasional gusty winds associated with the low are still possible along portions of the north-central Gulf of Mexico coast today.

Remnants moved inland over the western Mississippi Gulf Coast during the early morning hours (EDT), so the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. noted that there is now a “near zero chance” that TD5’s remnants will reform into a tropical depression. That doesn’t mean that the Gulf coast will be devoid of effects, however.