Katrina may intensify rapidly

The NHC 5pm discussion mentions that an experimental intensification model is forecasting a 57% chance that Katrina will undergo rapid intensification Thursday just before landfall in South Florida. The GFDL model is also calling for rapid intensification. This means that Katrina could be a Category 3 hurricane when it hits South Florida. The current thinking is still that there is enough dry air around Katrina to make it a strong tropical storm or weak Category 1 hurricane at landfall, but keep in mind that hurricane intensity forecasts are very unreliable.