<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone that was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States . It was the eleventh named storm, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the record - breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season . </P> <P> The storm originated over the Bahamas on August 23 from the interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten . Early the following day, the new depression intensified into Tropical Storm Katrina . The cyclone headed generally westward toward Florida and strengthened into a hurricane only two hours before making landfall at Hallandale Beach and Aventura on August 25 . After very briefly weakening to a tropical storm, Katrina emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and began to rapidly deepen . The storm strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29, in southeast Louisiana . </P> <P> The storm caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge and levee failure . Severe property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as Mississippi beachfront towns where boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland; water reached 6--12 miles (10--19 km) from the beach . The storm was the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969 . Overall, at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane . Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion (2005 USD), roughly four times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in the United States . </P>

What was the highest category of hurricane katrina