"We went to bed last night expecting some possible rain and woke up this morning to learn that Katrina was 75 miles [120 kilometers] north of Marathon [Florida]," says Dan Gallagher, resident of Grassy Key. "A lot of the live-aboards [people living on houseboats] in Boot Key Harbor were surprised to find their boats in new spots."

"It was certainly very strong and also was very large," Chris Landsea said later. Landsea, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was aboard a flight into Hurricane Katrina. "When we were flying into it Saturday, its circulation covered the entire Gulf of Mexico."

"We're facing the storm most of us have feared," Nagin said. "This is going to be an unprecedented event."

"Some