Hurricane Andrew

Start of Hurricane Andrew

Started near Cape Verde (off of the coast of Africa) as a tropical wave on August 14, 1992.

Became a tropical depression on August 16, 1992

Depression grew stronger and became Andrew on August 17, 1992.

Andrew was considered a tropical storm on August 20, 1992

Andrew reached hurricane strength on August 22, 1992

Information from NHC

Cape Verde Islands

Illustration from Wikipedia

Andrew’s Path Came across the Atlantic to first come in contact with

the Bermuda Islands. It later hit the southern coast of Florida (Homestead,

Florida City, and parts of Miami) on August 23, 1992 as a Category 5* hurricane.

Andrew continued crossing the pan-handle of Florida, and losing intensity becoming a Category 4 hurricane.

It continued to Louisiana where it reached landfall again (Morgan City) on August 26, 1992 as a Category 3 hurricane, and was directed inland causing it to lose intensity.

*Category of Hurricane was later changed to Category 5 from Category 4, references later in this presentation.

Information from NHC and SP Times

Hurricane Andrew’s Path

Illustration from Wikimedia

Time-Lapse Photo of Andrew

Illustration from NASA

Storm Category Hurricane Andrew was originally labeled

as a Category 4 Hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson scale

The category was later upgraded on February 7, 2005 to a Category 5 Hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson scale

Central Pressure is officially 922mb when reaching landfall in Florida

Information from NHC

Hurricane Andrew’s Landfall

Illustration from NHC

Winds and Storm Surges Landfall windspeeds in Florida are estimated to

have been between 144.6 MPH and 173.5 MPH Landfall windspeeds in Louisiana are stated as

115 MPH

Andrew hit Florida at a time of high tide, creating a higher storm tide (sum of tide and storm surge)

Location Storm TideNorthern Biscayne Bay 4-6 ft

BK International HQ (western shore; Biscayne Bay)

16.9 ft

Southern Biscayne Bay 4-5 ft

Flamingo 4-5 ft

Goodland 6-7 ft

Information from NHC and Wikipedia

Andrews Wind Intensity

Illustration from Ocean-Pro

Devastation of Andrew Hurricane Andrew was at the time unprecedented in

the cost of damage, causing more than 26 billion dollars of damage (for 1992 value of the US dollar)

Location Damage (billions)Bahamas $0.25

Florida $25

Louisiana $1

Georgia $.001

Hurricane Andrew caused a total of 65 deathsLocation Deaths (direct

cause)Deaths (Indirect cause)

Bahamas 3 1

Florida 15 29

Louisiana 8 9

Information from NHC

Devastation of Andrew Continued…

Illustrations from NHC

Devastation of Andrew Continued…

Illustrations from NHC

Devastation of Andrew Continued…

Illustrations from NHC and Wikimedia

Devastation of Andrew Continued…

Illustrations from Wikimedia

Devastation of Andrew Continued…

Illustrations from Wikimedia and SP Times

Other Information pertaining to Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew caused unprecedented economic

devastation throughout the Bahamas, southern Florida, and south-central Louisiana

Loss of life from this storm was remarkably low considering the destruction caused by this hurricane.

Andrew was a compact storm system: If it had been a little larger or hit landfall in Florida just a little bit north of where it hit, the damage would have been catastrophic. Areas that would have been more heavily affected are Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, and Fort Lauderdale.

Hurricane Andrew left the New Orleans region mostly intact.

Information from NHC

Works CitedPreliminary Report, Hurricane Andrew. National Hurricane

Center. <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1992andrew.html#FOOT1>

Hurricane Andrew. NASA <http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/images/andrew.html>

Hurricane Andrew: After the Storm, 10 years later. St. Petersburg Times. <http://www.sptimes.com/2002/webspecials02/andrew/>

Hurricane Andrew Pictures. Wikimedia. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=Hurricane+Andrew&go=Go>

Hurricane Andrew. Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew>