August 24th marks the 30th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew striking the south Florida Coast back in 1992. To this day, Andrew remains one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to ever make landfall along the US Mainland. Andrew was also one of the costliest hurricanes on record, incurring 27.3 billion in damage in 1992, which would cause 106 billion in damage if the hurricane occured in 2022 (second only to Katrina). Additionally, the storm was responsible for 26 direct fatalities, including 15 in the state of Florida alone. However, Andrew also impacted parts of the Northwest Bahamas, and the US Gulf Coast…including the southern coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Near Cutler Bay, FL in the Pinewoods Villa area here the northern eyewall of Andrew passed through. NOAA
Andrew was born out of a tropical wave over the Central Atlantic Ocean during the early morning hours of August 17, 1992. Initially, strong wind sheer prevented the system from developing quickly, as the system remained a tropical storm for the next several days as it moved in a general west-northwest direction towards the Bahamas. This proved to be the ultimate downfall for the US, for if Andrew were to have strengthened more rapidly, the storm would have likely recurved out to sea due to a weakness in the Bermuda High. This was not the case however, and Andrew did not intensify to hurricane strength until the morning of August 22nd…over 5 days after originally being classified.
After that, in a much similar manner to Katrina over 10 years later, Andrew began to rapidly intensify and quickly strengthened to a Category 5 storm with winds of 175 mph just 30 hours after becoming a minimal hurricane. From there, Andrew turned due west, slamming into the Bahamas and later Florida with sustained winds close to 165 mph and gusts to 220 mph, with a minimum pressure of 922 mb. The damage caused was unprecedented, as nearly 1 million homes were either severely damaged or completely destroyed after the storm produced nearly 14 inches of rainfall, a 15-20 foot storm surge, and several tornadoes across southern Florida. The worst conditions were felt across the heart of Miami-Dade County, just to the north of Homestead, Florida, where the system made landfall early on August 24th. After wreaking havoc across the peninsula, Andrew entered the Gulf of Mexico and later made a second landfall along the Louisiana coast on the 26th, before eventually dissipating across the Southeast by the 28th. The remnants of Andrew even caused rainfall and minor flooding up through the Ohio Valley and into Upstate New York nearly a week after dissipating.
NWS radar out of Miami as Hurricane Andrew came ashore.
One important lesson that can be learned for Andrew is that even in relatively quiet years in terms of tropical activity, it only takes one storm to make a lasting impression. In 1992, there were only 7 named storms the entire season, with just 4 going on to become hurricanes. This just goes to show, that hurricane activity does not always correspond to landfall potential. That is why it is important to take the proper precautions every year, starting with an evacuation and safety plan.
