Hurricane Katrina...where do you begin? It's likely the worst natural disaster in the history of our nation. This storm produced catastrophic damage and took hundreds of lives. We may truly never be able to account for the exact human and physical devastation from this hurricane, other than to say horrific.

A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression about 175 miles southeast of Nassau, Bahamas, on August 23rd. By the 24th, we were dealing with the latest tropical storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Katrina.

Katrina began her trek northwest through the Bahamas, and made a turn to the west, on a path similar to Hurricane Andrew back in 1992.

Many residents of South Florida wondered if this storm would behave like Andrew...experiencing explosive growth on the small stretch of ocean between the Bahamas and south Florida.

Although not as severe as Andrew, the fears that many held came true. Katrina rapidly grew from a Tropical Storm to a Category 1 hurricane, making landfall on the Miami-Dade/Broward county line around 6:30 PM on August 25th.

The storm dropped up to a foot of rain across south Florida and the Keys, and toppled numerous trees and power lines. Katrina weakened to a tropical storm before exiting south Florida, but not before taking 6 lives.

A few peak winds with Katrina's first U.S. landfall include 82 MPH at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, 97 MPH at the Homestead Airport, 87 MPH at the Miami National Weather Service Office in Sweetwater, and 78 MPH at the Miami International Airport.

Rainfall totals were impressive, including 16.33" by a weather observer in Perrine and 14.04" at the Homestead Air Base.

Katrina caused over $400 million dollars in agricultural losses and $100 million in damage.

By 8 AM on the 26th of August, now Tropical Storm Katrina moved back over water on a southwestward trek into the Gulf of Mexico. It took just a few hours for the storm to regain hurricane status, battering the Florida Keys on its south side.

Less than two days later, the storm reached category 5 status and was now on a northward track toward the central Gulf Coast of the United States. At its peak, Katrina had a central pressure of 902 mb (the fourth lowest on record) and a sustained wind of 175 MPH.

The storm weakened slightly before making landfall in Plaquemines Parish, just south of the town of Buras, at 6:10 AM on August 29th. Sustained winds were 140 MPH. Katrina briefly emerged back over waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making a second landfall near the Mississippi/Louisiana state line at 10 AM. Winds were down to 125 MPH at the time of second landfall.

Katrina roared inland, remaining a hurricane for another 100 miles, reaching the small town of Laurel, Mississippi. Eventually, the storm was downgraded to a depression near Clarksville, Tennessee. The remnants raced northeast, reaching Binghamton, New York, by August 31st.

It is almost impossible to list the storm reports from Katrina. Perhaps they can be summed up in just a few words...like catastrophic, pure devastation, or as simple as gone.

We do know many locations recorded sustained winds over 100 MPH before weather equipment and power failed. Several places picked up a foot or more of rain, and storm surge was as high as 28 feet in many locations, especially along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.