Katrina Reduced to Tropical Storm; Cooler Weather Ahead
Hurricane Katrina made landfall this morning in southern Louisiana, and fortunately did not make a direct hit on New Orleans. It appears that the worst of the storm’s effects will be in Mississippi, although as of now, fatalities appear to be minimal. The storm will still be marked as a memorable one, with even the Atlanta Journal-Constitution issuing an Extra edition for newsstands this morning with late breaking news from Louisiana.
As of early this evening, Katrina had been reduced to a tropical storm, although it will continue to bring rain and the possibility of tornados as it moves northward through Tennessee, Kentucky, and the northeast through the end of the week.
In Georgia, numerous tornado warnings were issued in the metro Atlanta area from about 5:00 PM through mid evening. As could be expected with the center of the storm so far to the west, it appears that the worst of the damage was in Carroll County, close to the Alabama state line. Additional rain bands from the storm will continue to affect our area through mid afternoon on Tuesday. Models predict that Katrina will continue heading north through Mississippi before taking a more easterly path once it reaches the Tennessee border, meaning that we are likely to see, at most, a few inches of rain.
With the end of August at hand, it’s time for some cooler weather, and it looks like that may happen shortly after Labor Day. Long range models predict cooler than normal temperatures (and lower than normal rainfall) for Labor Day week, with a distinct possibility of nighttime temperatures dropping below 60 degrees on several evenings.
As far as tropical weather goes, TD 13 appears to have petered out, and is unlikely to affect US weather at all.
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