As the center of
Hurricane Katrina passed southeast of
New Orleans on August 29, 2005, winds downtown were in the Category 1 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. Hurricane-force winds were experienced throughout the city, although the most severe portion of Katrina missed the city, hitting nearby
St. Bernard and
Plaquemines parishes.
Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall in eastern St. Tammany Parish. The western eye wall passed directly over St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane at about 9:45 am CST, August 29, 2005. The communities of
Slidell, Avery Estates, Lakeshore Estates, Oak Harbor, Eden Isles and Northshore Beach were inundated by the
storm surge that extended over six miles inland. The storm surge affected all of St. Tammany Parish’s coastline, including Lacombe,
Mandeville and
Madisonville. The storm surge in the area of the Rigolets Pass was estimated to be 16 feet, not including wave action, declining to at
Madisonville. The surge had a second peak in eastern St. Tammany as the westerly winds from the southern eye wall pushed the surge to the east, backing up at the bottleneck of the Rigolets Pass.