Meteorological history of Hurricane Andrew
In 2002, the "Atlantic Basin Hurricane Database Reanalysis Project" examined Hurricane Andrew and this corridor of extreme winds embedded within Andrew's northern eyewall. The project concluded that Category 5 conditions on land occurred only in a small region of southern Dade (now Miami-Dade) County, specifically close to the coast in Cutler Ridge. The remaining areas affected by Andrew's initial landfall in Florida likely experienced sustained Category 4 and 3 hurricane conditions. Andrew was officially re-classified as a Category 5 storm in 2004, and the reanalysis provided a more comprehensive and detailed examination of Andrew's wind field structure upon landfall than originally assessed in 1992.
1986 Atlantic hurricane season
While active, Andrew posed a threat to the Carolinas. Gale warnings were posted from an area ranging from Cape Lookout to south of Virginia Beach, Virginia on June 7. Waves reached heights of off the coast of the Carolinas, which killed a person on Ocracoke Island. Three companions were also swept out, all of whom made it back to shore. At Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, at least 40 swimmers were caught in the currents, four of whom were hospitalized. The precursor to the storm produced heavy rainfall across Jamaica that caused a deadly flood event.
During late June, a frontal trough drifted into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, and by June 22 a surface circulation formed. Tracking west-northwestward, it developed into Tropical Depression Two on June 23 while located about 330 miles (535 km) south of Pensacola, Florida. The next day, it attained tropical storm status, and with continued favorable conditions attained hurricane status on June 25 to the south of Louisiana. Bonnie turned to the northwest and made landfall near Sea Rim State Park in Texas. The storm quickly weakened over land as it turned to the north and northeast, and on June 28 it was absorbed by an approaching frontal zone in southeastern Missouri.