In Hurricane Katrina, the storm came ashore heading almost due north and the eye passed between the towns of Slidell, Louisiana and Waveland, Mississippi. Slidell, LA suffered heavy flooding and moderate wind damage while Waveland, MS was totally destroyed without a single building standing within 200m of the coastline. Both cities experienced the eyewall of the storm where the winds are strongest, so why was the destruction so different?
◦ Slidell must be a sheltered coastline, or protected behind a levee system.
◦ Slidell was just lucky and experienced a temporary lull in the storm.
◦ Waveland caught the right front quadrant of the storm, with maximum storm surge and wind.
◦ Waveland must have been at a lower elevation than Slidell.
The Pyramid of the Moon, looking north up the Avenue of the Dead.
Storm Surges
North Atlantic mT air
Weather Typically Associated with a Warm Front (North America)
Storm Surge Destruction
Storm Surge Scale