History of Florida
Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 struck Homestead, just south of Miami, as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving forty people dead, 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than a million people left without electricity, and damages of $20–30 billion. Much of South Florida's sensitive vegetation was severely damaged. The region had not seen a storm of such power in decades. Besides heavy property damage, the hurricane nearly destroyed the region's insurance industry.
Hurricane Abby (1968)
Abby dropped 4–8 inches (102–203 mm) of rain across southern and western Florida. The highest rainfall total was in Hart Lake. On the Florida Panhandle, rainfall up to 2 inches (50.8 mm) was reported. Gusts went as high as 87 knots at the 60-ft Tower. Four tornadoes were reported during Abby's landfall. Two of which caused $8,000 dollars (1968 USD) in damage in Florida. Six fatalities resulted from drowning, electrocutions and traffic accidents were reported during the storms landfall. In all, damage in Florida by Abby amounted to $250,000 (1968 USD). The rainfall was beneficial in Florida, as it aided in ending a drought in the state. Two tornadoes in Florida were spawned in association with Abby, both on June 4. One was near the Indian River in Brevard County at 6:30 PM EDT. No injuries were reported and damage was estimated at less than $5,000 worth of damage. The second tornado touched down in Polk County at around 9:30 PM EDT. It resulted in no injuries and caused less than $500 dollars in damage. A funnel cloud was observed at Cape Kennedy around 8:10 AM, but it never touched the ground.