The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with an estimated 3,865 deaths and record damages of about $130 billion (2005 USD; $146 billion 2011 USD).
Of the storms that made landfall, five of the season's seven major hurricanes—Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma—were responsible for most of the destruction.
The season officially began on June 1, 2005, and lasted until November 30, although it effectively persisted into January 2006 due to continued storm activity.
2005 hurricane outlook
A record twenty-eight tropical and subtropical storms formed, of which a record fifteen became hurricanes.
Of these, seven strengthened into major hurricanes, a record-tying five became Category 4 hurricanes and a record four reached Category 5 strength, the highest categorization for hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Among these Category 5 storms were Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, respectively the costliest and the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Hurricane Katrina formed in mid-August over the Bahamas. It became a tropical storm on August 24 and reached hurricane intensity before making landfall in south Florida as a minimal hurricane.
A few hours later, the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico and intensified rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane while crossing the Loop Current on August 28.
Katrina made landfall on August 29 near the mouth of the Mississippi River as an extremely large Category 3 hurricane. Category 5-level storm surge (as the storm had weakened only in the previous several hours) caused catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Louisiana were breached by the surge, ultimately flooding about 80% of the city.
2005 Atlantic Hurricanes
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