Sandy is already the largest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. How does it compare with Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, and is considered the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history? And what about Irene, which came ashore on North Carolina on Aug. 27, 2011, and caused record flooding across eastern New York and Vermont after several subsequent landfalls as a tropical storm? Here are some telling numbers. And see the links below for some of the best sites for tracking Sandy yourself.
STATISTICS UPON U.S. LANDFALL
Strength
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Katrina: Category 3 (Louisiana)
Irene: Category 1 (North Carolina)
Sandy: Category 1 (New Jersey)
Top Wind Speed
Katrina: 125 mph
Irene: 85 mph
Sandy: 94 mph
Diameter (extent of high winds)
Katrina: 400 miles
Irene: 520 miles
Sandy: 940 miles
Atmospheric Pressure
Katrina: 920 millibars (lower is stronger)
Irene: 951 millibars
Sandy: 940 millibars (lowest ever to make landfall north of North Carolina)
Typical at sea level: 1013 millibars
Storm Surge
Katrina: 14 feet, funneling to 28 feet at New Orleans
Irene: 8 feet
Sandy: 12.5 feet
Maximum Rainfall
Katrina: 15 inches
Irene: 10-15 inches (N.C.); 8 inches (N.Y., Vt.)
Sandy: 13 inches
Maximum Snowfall
Katrina: 0 inches
Irene: 0 inches
Sandy: 34 inches
Deaths
Katrina 1,833
Irene: 56
Sandy: 69 Caribbean, 55 U.S. as of Oct. 31 a.m.
Property Damage
Katrina: $81 billion
Irene: $19 billion
Sandy: $20 billion, estimate
Storm track, in real time, from the National Hurricane Center.
Map of wind speeds, in real time, across the U.S., which draws from the National Digital Forecast Database.
Severe weather alerts, county by county, nationwide.
How hurricanes form (video explainer).
Smart site that tracks and explains extreme weather: WunderBlog by Jeff Masters, part of the Wunderground weather site.
Statistics for this article, originally posted on Oct. 29, 2012, are updated as of Oct. 31, from AccuWeather.com and other sources