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As national news stations follow the path of

Tropical Storm Erika, the country is reminded of

the devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought.

This Saturday, August 29th, marks the tenth

anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making

landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana.

As the city continues the eternal process of rebuilding,

scientists are still working to identify trends in hurricanes and

the paths they take. Two of the main areas of study in

regards to hurricanes revolve around temperature and

pressure.

It is a fact that warmer surface water is needed for a

hurricane to form. When the warm water is evaporated, it is continually funneled upwards based on warm

surface air. Because of the rotation of the earth, the funneling begins to spin, traveling across the ocean's

surface where it gains speed and strength.

Before Hurricane Katrina hit land, satellites showed that the water surface temperature raised from 77 °F to

almost 85 °F before reaching land. This increased temperature enabled the storm to keep moving and gaining

strength.

Along with temperature, pressure also plays a major role in the formation and journey of a hurricane. As the

hurricane develops, low pressure is needed to encourage evaporation. Atmospheric pressure in the center of the

spiral (referred to as the eye) remains low as the circling air reaches higher pressures, generally between 990

and 1010 millibars. The high pressure above the forming hurricane forces the wind speeds to continue to

increase. During Hurricane Katrina, wind gusts reached as high as 123 miles per hour.

As long as the surface temperatures of water remain high, hurricanes will continue to move. When the hurricane

reaches land, the lack of water will cause it to eventually die out, but, as seen with Katrina, not before leaving a

path of destruction.