Hurricane Camille - Comparisons To Hurricane Katrina

Comparisons To Hurricane Katrina

Although Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Katrina took different paths, they both reached the same section of the coast of Mississippi with similar destructive effects. Camille intensified more rapidly than Katrina, and unlike Katrina, Camille maintained status as a Category 5 hurricane until landfall. However, the observed minimum pressure in Katrina was slightly lower. Both hurricanes shared the common aspect of undergoing periods of rapid intensification. The size of Camille's radius of maximum wind was less than one-third that of Katrina, more similar to the intense but small Hurricane Andrew. Also unlike Katrina, Camille caused little damage in New Orleans, Louisiana, though Camille itself just barely missed the city. The area of hurricane-force winds within Camille was just over two-thirds the size of Hurricane Katrina. Both storms were moving at a similar forward motion at the time of landfall. Although Camille's wind speed at landfall was higher, Katrina's storm surge exceeded Camille's storm surge at all known locations due to its greater size. Both hurricanes' names were retired.