Hurricane Andrew is the second most destructive hurricane in
United States
history. Hurricane Andrew was the first named hurricane of the 1992 Atlantic
hurricane season, and it struck in August.
Andrew damaged areas in the northwestern Bahamas,
South Central Louisiana and Southern Florida area, south
of Miami.
The total amount of damage in cost, caused by Hurricane
Andrew, was totaled at $26 billion in 1992 dollars. Most of the damage was in South
Florida though.
A total of 65 people died from it, and countless were
injured. The central pressure ranking of Hurricane Andrew was the fourth lowest
in U.S.
landfall history.
Hurricane Andrew's Beginnings
Andrew started as a tropical wave from Africa,
which spawned a tropical depression, which then became Tropical Storm Andrew
the next day.
The storm actually almost dissipated on August 20, but then
when it was midway between Bermuda and Puerto
Rico, it began turning westward into a much more favorable
environment.
Andrew made landfall twice while it was moving through the Bahamas.
The storm then was made weakened after it made landfall the second time. It
maintained strong winds though and the pressure kept rising.
However while it was crossing the Gulf Stream, it gained
strength quickly and became a Category 5 hurricane briefly while it made
landfall over South Florida on August 24, with the pressure being at 922 mbar
and wind speeds of 165 miles per hour.
Hurricane Andrew then continued in the westward direction,
towards the Gulf of Mexico, as a Category 4 hurricane,
where it then gradually turned north.
This brought the hurricane to central Louisiana's
coast on August 26th, by then though it was only a Category 3. It then turned
north east and merged with a front system over the Mid-Atlantic
States. As of 2007, Hurricane Andrew has only been surpassed by 3
hurricanes, those being the Labor Day hurricane in 1935, Hurricane Camille in
1969 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Be prepared next time a hurricane strikes your area! Start
protecting your South Florida property today, request
a free estimate and you will be contacted by a licensed and insured
contractor within 24 hours, or the date and time you prefer.
