For NewWatcher - that is the noon recon at the end of the SE to NW pass (17:42Z = 12:42pm CDT).

I don't see this rapid intensification happening over the next 24 hrs that there have been several allusions to; don't see anything higher than a Cat 2, at most, by the time the storm goes over the Keys. Don't read too much into Joe B (i.e. Prophet of Doom), or just one model run. Neither pressure nor winds indicate anything more than a well-organized TS, although pressure diff is a healthy 6deg.

For Rick - SSTs are by definition only surface temperatures, not temperatures at depth.

For Convergence - actually the effects of Katrina on water temps down to 50m would have been significant and much longer-lasting than a couple of days.