Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in mid-to-late August 1992, the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later. It was the strongest in decades and the costliest hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the United States until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005. Andrew caused major damage in the Bahamas and Louisiana, but the greatest impact was felt in South Florida, where the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph (270 km/h). Passing directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County (now known as Miami-Dade County), Andrew stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations. In total, Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead.
Meteorological history of Hurricane Andrew
Six hours after becoming a hurricane, Andrew was predicted to make landfall near Jupiter, Florida with winds of . The hurricane accelerated as it tracked due westward into an area of very favorable conditions, and late on August 22 began rapidly intensifying; in a 24‑hour period the pressure dropped 47 mbar to a minimum pressure of 922 mbar. On August 23 the cyclone attained Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and at 1800 UTC, Hurricane Andrew reached peak winds of , while located a short distance off Eleuthera island in the Bahamas. Operationally, the National Hurricane Center assessed its peak intensity as , which was upgraded to in a post-analysis after the season ended; the hurricane was later re-classified as a Category 5 hurricane. The highest reported wind gust was on Harbour Island, although the recording equipment failed after the reading. The hurricane also produced a storm surge of in northwestern Eleuthera.