Hurricane Andrew

8 min readApr 30, 2021

Hurricane Andrew was a powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged or destroyed, and was the costliest in financial terms until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later. It was the strongest landfalling hurricane in decades and the costliest hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the United States, until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005. In addition, Andrew is one of only four hurricanes to make landfall in the United States as a Category 5, alongside the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, 1969’s Camille, and 2018’s Michael. Andrew caused major damage in the Bahamas and Louisiana, but the greatest impact was felt in South Florida, where the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, with 1-minute sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph (280 km/h) and a gust as high as 174 mph. Passing directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County (now known as Miami-Dade County), Andrew stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations. In total, Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage,[nb 1] and left 65 people dead.

Andrew began as a tropical depression over the eastern Atlantic Ocean on August 16. After spending a week without significantly strengthening itself in the central Atlantic, it rapidly intensified into a powerful Category 5 hurricane while moving westward towards the Bahamas on August 23. Though it briefly weakened to Category 4 status while traversing the Bahamas, it regained Category 5 intensity before making landfall in Florida on Elliott Key and then Homestead on August 24. With a barometric pressure of 922 mbar (27.23 inHg) at the time of landfall in Florida, Andrew is the sixth most-intense hurricane to strike the United States. Several hours later, the hurricane emerged over the Gulf of Mexico at Category 4 strength, with the Gulf Coast of the United States in its dangerous path. After turning northwestward and weakening further, Andrew moved ashore near Morgan City, Louisiana, as a low-end Category 3 storm. After moving inland, the small hurricane curved northeastward and rapidly lost its intensity, becoming extratropical on August 28, and merging with a frontal system over the southern Appalachian Mountains on August 29.

Andrew first inflicted structural damage as it moved through the Bahamas, especially in Cat Cays, lashing the islands with storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and tornadoes. About 800 houses were destroyed in the archipelago, and there was substantial damage to the transport, water, sanitation, agriculture, and fishing sectors. Andrew left four dead and $250 million in damage throughout the Bahamas. In parts of southern Florida, Andrew produced severe winds; a wind gust of 177 mph (282 km/h) was observed at a house in Perrine. The cities of Florida City, Homestead, Cutler Ridge and parts of Kendall received the brunt of the storm. As many as 1.4 million people lost power at the height of the storm; some for more than one month. In the Everglades, 70,000 acres (280 km2) of trees were downed, while invasive Burmese pythons began inhabiting the region after a nearby facility housing them was destroyed. Rainfall in Florida was substantial, peaking at 13.98 inches (355 mm) in western Dade County. In Florida, Andrew killed 44 and left a record $25 billion in damage.

Prior to making landfall in Louisiana on August 26, Andrew caused extensive damage to oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to $500 million in losses for oil companies. It produced hurricane-force winds along its path through Louisiana, damaging large stretches of power lines that left about 230,000 people without electricity. Over 80% of trees in the Atchafalaya River basin were downed, and the agriculture there was devastated. Throughout the basin and Bayou Lafourche, 187 million freshwater fish were killed in the hurricane. With 23,000 houses damaged, 985 others destroyed, and 1,951 mobile homes demolished, property losses in Louisiana exceeded $1.5 billion. The hurricane caused the deaths of 17 people in the state, 6 of whom drowned offshore. Andrew spawned at least 28 tornadoes along the Gulf Coast, especially in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. In total, Andrew left 65 dead and caused $27.3 billion in damage. Andrew is currently the seventh-costliest Atlantic hurricane to hit the United States, behind only Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Sandy (2012), Harvey (2017), Irma (2017), and Maria (2017), as well as the eighth-costliest Atlantic hurricane, behind the aforementioned systems and Wilma (2005). The storm is the third-strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland by wind speed (165 mph).[1]

Meteorological history[edit]

Main article: Meteorological history of Hurricane Andrew

Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale

A tropical wave moved off the west coast of Africa on August 14. A ridge of high pressure to its north caused the wave to move quickly westward. An area of convection developed along the wave axis to the south of the Cape Verde islands, and on August 15, meteorologists began classifying the system with the Dvorak technique. The thunderstorm activity became more concentrated, and narrow spiral rainbands began to develop around a center of circulation. It is estimated that Tropical Depression Three developed late on August 16, about 1,630 mi (2,620 km) east-southeast of Barbados.[2] Embedded within the deep easterlies, the depression tracked west-northwestward at 20 mph (32 km/h).[3] Initially, moderate wind shear prevented strengthening, until a decrease in shear allowed the depression to intensify into Tropical Storm Andrew at 12:00 UTC on August 17.[2]

By early August 18, the storm maintained convection near the center with spiral bands to its west as the winds increased to 50 mph (80 km/h).[4] Shortly thereafter, the storm began weakening because of increased southwesterly wind shear from an upper-level low.[2] On August 19, a Hurricane Hunters flight into the storm failed to locate a well-defined center[5] and on the following day, a flight found that the cyclone had degenerated to the extent that only a diffuse low-level circulation center remained; observations indicated the barometric pressure rose to an unusually high 1,015 mbar (29.97 inHg). The flight indicated that Andrew maintained a vigorous circulation aloft. After the upper-level low weakened and split into a trough, the wind shear decreased over the storm. A strong high pressure system then developed over the southeastern United States, which built eastward and caused Andrew to turn to the west.[2] Convection became more organized as upper-level outflow became better established.[6] An eye formed, and Andrew attained hurricane status early on August 22, about 650 mi (1,050 km) east-southeast of Nassau, Bahamas.[2] In the forecast issued six hours after becoming a hurricane, the cyclone was predicted to make landfall near Jupiter, Florida, with winds of 105 mph (170 km/h) on August 25.[7] This underestimated both the strength and the speed of the storm, which would eventually make landfall in South Florida.[2]

A sequence of satellite images depicting Hurricane Andrew (from right to left) on August 23–25

The hurricane accelerated westward into an area of highly favorable conditions, and began to rapidly intensify late on August 22; in a 24‑hour period the atmospheric pressure dropped by 47 mbar (1.388 inHg) to a minimum of 922 mbar (27.23 inHg).[2] On August 23, the storm attained Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, reaching peak winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) a short distance off Eleuthera island in the Bahamas at 18:00 UTC.[nb 2][8] Despite its intensity, Andrew was a small tropical cyclone, with winds of 35 mph (56 km/h) extending out only about 90 mi (150 km) from the center.[9] After reaching that intensity, the hurricane underwent an eyewall replacement cycle.[10] At 21:00 UTC on August 23, Andrew made landfall on Eleuthera as a Category 5 hurricane, with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h).[8] The cyclone weakened further while crossing the Bahama Banks, and at 01:00 UTC on August 24, Andrew hit the southern Berry Islands of the Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h).[8] As it crossed over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, the hurricane rapidly re-intensified as the eye decreased in size and its eyewall convection deepened.[2] At 08:40 UTC on August 24, Andrew struck Elliott Key as a Category 5 hurricane, with winds of 165 mph (266 km/h) and a pressure of 926 mbar (27.34 inHg). About 25 minutes after its first Florida landfall, Andrew made another landfall just northeast of Homestead, with a slightly lower pressure of 922 mbar (27.23 inHg).[8] This barometric pressure made Andrew the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Camille in 1969 and the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Florida since the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.[2] The United States would not experience another landfall from a hurricane at Category 5 intensity until Hurricane Michael in 2018.[11]

Hurricane Andrew

Contents

Meteorological history[edit]

Written by Vexare