Effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida
The effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida proved to be at the time the costliest disaster in the state's history, as well as the then-costliest on record in the United States. Hurricane Andrew formed from a tropical wave on August 16, 1992 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved west-northwest and remained weak for several days due to strong wind shear. However, after curving westward on August 22, the storm rapidly intensified to reach peak winds of 175 mph (280 km/h). Following its passage through The Bahamas, Andrew made landfall near Homestead, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane on August 24. Eventually, Andrew struck southern Louisiana before it dissipated over the eastern United States on August 28.
1863 Atlantic hurricane season
Although it is not officially listed in HURDAT, Hurricane Amanda, named after a ship run aground by the storm, developed in the Gulf of Mexico on May 24. First documented in 2013 by Michael Chenoweth and Cary Mock, the system capsized several other ships and caused damage along the coast of the Florida Panhandle. The cyclone made landfall near Apalachicola, Florida exceptionally early in the season, on May 28. Amanda holds the distinction of being the only known hurricane landfall in the United States in the month of May since HURDAT records began in 1851. On land and at sea, the cyclone left at least 110 fatalities. Few other storms were notable. In August, the third official storm capsized the American brig "Bainbridge" off Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning 80 people. The seventh official cyclone caused 10 deaths near Tampico, Tamaulipas, after the ship "J.K.L." sunk.