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.
1859 Atlantic hurricane season
Beginning on October 16, ships throughout the central Bahamas experienced squally conditions accompanied by strong winds. Based on those reports, this storm was documented in 1995 as a west-northwestward-moving system. One ship ran aground on Paradise Island and another suffered a similar fate in the Abaco Islands. Continuing westward, the storm made landfall near modern day Boca Raton, Florida, with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) at 16:00 UTC on October 17. The system was last noted near present day Arcadia early the following day.
A low pressure area developed over the Bay of Campeche between October 23 and October 24, with a tropical storm forming on the latter date. At least four other ships in that portion of the Gulf of Mexico sustained appreciable structural damage. One ship capsized in the storm with all hands lost except one seaman, who was picked up on November 2 by a passing vessel. The survivor said he was stranded on the wreck for five days, indicating that his ship went down on October 28. Stormy weather was reported near Bermuda. Partagás and Diaz used these reports to create a track for the storm. Initially, the storm drifted north-northeastward and northeastward. By 12:00 UTC on October 26, it was estimated that the system became a hurricane and intensified slightly further to peak at winds of 90 mph (150 km/h). Shortly thereafter, the hurricane began accelerating east-northeastward due to a cold front. At 18:00 UTC on October 28, the storm made landfall near St. Petersburg, Florida. A barometric pressure of was observed, the lowest in relation to the storm. The storm emerged in the Atlantic less than six hours later and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone early on October 29.