After forming in the central Bahamas, Katrina came ashore in south Florida as a Category 1 hurricane where it was responsible for 11 fatalities. The storm cut diagonally across the southern part of the state from just north of Miami on the east coast, through the everglades, to Cape Sabel on the west coast. In the process, Katrina brought heavy amounts of rain to parts of south Florida and Cuba. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been measuring rainfall over the Tropics since its launch in 1997. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides estimates of rainfall over the global Tropics. MPA rainfall totals due solely to the passage of Katrina are shown for the period 23 to 31 August 2005 with storm symbols marking the track of Katrina. The highest rainfall totals exceed 12 inches of rain (dark red areas) over northwestern Cuba and the lower Florida Keys. Amounts over the southern Florida peninsula are between 5 and 8 inches (green to yellow area). Local WSR-88D radar esimates are locally much higher just west of Miami, but the overall pattern and amounts over the lower keys are in good agreement the MPA totals. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, Katrina intensified into a large, powerful Category 5 storm as it turned north towards the north-central Gulf coast. Katrina came ashore as a powerful Category 4 storm over southeastrn Louisiana and southern Mississippi, resulting in catastrophic damage and as yet an unknown number of fatalities. Rainfall totals immediately along the coast of Mississippi are between 6 and 9 inches (yellow to orange) in very good agreement with local radar estimates. After coming ashore, Katrina tracked quickly up through Mississippi, western Tennessee and Kentucky and into Ohio. Katrina's rapid forward progress helped keep rainfall totals down across the central US with amounts generally less than 5 inches (green to blue) across northern Mississippi and parts of the Ohio valley.

TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).