Hurricane Andrew
Post-analysis on Andrew revealed that the storm was often stronger than operationally reported between early on August 22 and early on August 26. In real time, the National Hurricane Center assessed its peak intensity as , which was upgraded to 155 mph (250 km/h) in a post-storm analysis after the season ended. However, a 2004 paper by Christopher Landsea and others concluded that Andrew became a Category 5 hurricane near the Bahamas on August 23 and reached maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h). The paper also indicated that Andrew briefly re-intensified into a Category 5 hurricane around the time of landfall in South Florida early on August 24. The storm was found to have been slightly stronger while approaching Louisiana, but the landfall winds were decreased from 120 mph (195 km/h) to 115 mph (185 km/h).
Effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida
Due to the sparsely populated mainland area of Monroe County, no observations of wind speeds occurred. In the northern half of Monroe County, light rainfall was reported, as only a few areas experienced more than of precipitation. It is unknown if any property damage occurred in that portion of Monroe County. Andrew caused significant damage to vegetation in Everglades National Park. In both Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park, over 25% or of trees were felled or severely damage. One-fourth of the royal palms and one-third of the pine trees in Everglades National Park were either significantly damaged or destroyed. In addition, waves up to were reported in Flamingo, which is near Cape Sable.