On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew plowed into South Florida, destroying justabout everything in its path. Hurricane Andrew was one of only three storms tostrike the United States at Category 5 intensity on the Saffir-SimpsonHurricane Scale. The other two were Camille in 1969 and the Labor Day Hurricanein 1935.When Andrew made landfall early on the 24th of August, winds in South Floridawere peaking at over 160 miles per hour. The destruction through the southernsuburbs of Miami was catastrophic. Aerial photos of the storm damage a daylater gave the appearance that a massive tornado had just moved through. Justabout every structure had been demolished.
Total damage from the storm was estimated at over $24 billion. Converted to2010 USD, that would be over 40 billion. Fatalities numbered only 65, which wasa miracle considering how powerful the storm was at landfall.
After crossing South Florida, Andrew went over the Gulf of Mexico, where itnever was any stronger than a Category 3 hurricane. The storm ultimately made asecond landfall in a sparsely populated area of southern Louisiana. Its windswere then down to 115 miles per hour.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist John Kocet.
