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.
Hurricane Agnes tornado outbreak
On June 18, a tornado touched down around 4:13 p.m. (EDT) near Fort Denaud, which is located near LaBelle in Hendry County. The tornado, killing one person, destroyed a truck and a trailer. The funnel also prostrated citrus trees and caused six injuries near LaBelle. Ten mobile homes were destroyed in two mobile home parks. In all, the tornado affected three mobile home parks and inflicted $200,000 (1972 USD) in property damage. Another tornado, occurring around 10:55 p.m. (EDT), destroyed 50 mobile homes and one fish camp near Okeechobee. This event killed six people and caused damage along a path that reached a width of 100 yards (0.05 mi). These tornadoes were operationally classified as "windstorms" in the official National Weather Service database, which indicated severe thunderstorm winds were responsible for the seven deaths. However, newspaper reports did cite the Okeechobee event as a tornado. Subsequently, an independent case study of the Hurricane Agnes outbreak in 1998 unveiled evidence that the events were two strong (F2–F3) tornadoes. However, the official database still lists the original number of tornadoes.
There were two unconfirmed tornadoes in Collier County. A brief tornado reportedly damaged a roof and two planes in the town of Immokalee. Power lines were downed in the area. Another possible tornado affected Everglades City, where trees were prostrated and portions of a home were transported for 0.25 mile (0.4 km). Lee County was affected by three F2 tornadoes, while an F1 tornado touched down in Seminole County. In all, the tornadoes in Lee, Seminole, and Brevard counties produced damages in excess of $100,000 (1972 USD).
Agnes produced a total of 8–11 strong (F2–F3) tornadoes in Florida. The accuracy of the ratings for many strong tornadoes in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s has been questioned by some authorities. Thomas P. Grazulis states that his criteria yielded fewer strong tornadoes than the official records. The author cites only four strong tornadoes for the Hurricane Agnes tornado outbreak. Only one F3 tornado is listed, while three F2 tornadoes are included in the analysis. The official database lists six F2 events and two F3 events.