Sandy versus Katrina, and Irene: Monster Hurricanes by the Numbers

Which storm has the highest wind speed, largest area, most snowfall?

By Mark Fischetti

Hurricane Sandy, morning of Oct. 29, 2012. Image: Courtesy of NASA

Sandy is already the largest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. How does it compare with Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, and is considered the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history? And what about Irene, which came ashore on North Carolina on Aug. 27, 2011, and caused record flooding across eastern New York and Vermont after several subsequent landfalls as a tropical storm? Here are some telling numbers. And see the links below for some of the best sites for tracking Sandy yourself.

STATISTICS UPON U.S. LANDFALL

Strength

Katrina: Category 3 (Louisiana)

Irene: Category 1 (North Carolina)

Sandy: Category 1 (New Jersey)

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Top Wind Speed

Katrina: 125 mph

Irene: 85 mph

Sandy: 80 mph

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Diameter (extent of high winds)

Katrina:? 400 miles

Irene: 520 miles

Sandy: 940 miles

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Atmospheric Pressure

Katrina: 920 millibars (lower is stronger)

Irene: 951 millibars

Sandy: 943 millibars (lowest ever, north of North Carolina)

Typical at sea level: 1013 millibars

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Storm Surge

Katrina: 14 feet, funneling to 28 feet at New Orleans

Irene: 8 feet

Sandy: 6-11 feet forecast, expected to funnel in Bay of New York and Long Island Sound

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Maximum Rainfall

Katrina: 15 inches

Irene: 9 inches (N.C.); 8 inches (N.Y., Vt.)

Sandy: 12 inches forecast

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Maximum Snowfall

Katrina: 0 inches

Irene: 0 inches

Sandy: 24 inches forecast

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Deaths

Katrina 1,833

Irene: 56

Sandy: 65 as of Monday morning, more expected

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Property Damage

Katrina: $81 billion

Irene: $19 billion

Sandy: to be determined

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Storm track, in real time, from the National Hurricane Center.

Map of wind speeds, in real time, across the U.S., which draws from the National Digital Forecast Database.

Severe weather alerts, county by county, nationwide.

How hurricanes form (video explainer).

Smart site that tracks and explains extreme weather: WunderBlog by Jeff Masters, part of the Wunderground weather site.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=e94a8b79766b17bbf3d2ec40d5b224bb

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