AUSTIN (KXAN) — 33 years ago on this date (August 24), Hurricane Andrew made landfall as a major Category 5 storm in Dade County, which is located in South Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph and a minimum central pressure 922 millibars, according to the National Weather Service.
For several years, Hurricane Andrew was assessed as a Category 4 storm by the National Hurricane Center. In 2002, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division decided to upgrade Andrew to a Category 5 because “of a better scientific understanding of the structure of the wind field in the violent eyewall of strong hurricanes,” a research study from NOAA said.
Andrew is remembered in the history books as one of the costliest hurricanes on record, and one of four hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S. as a Category 5 hurricane since 1900. At one point, Andrew was the costliest hurricane to strike the U.S. until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the NHC said.
A report in the U.S. Geological Survey noted the storm surge in Andrew’s peak intensity reached 17 feet above sea level in Biscayne, Florida. Andrew’s westward track through the state knocked down more than 77,000 trees in the wetlands.
Once Hurricane Andrew passed through Florida, the storm remained a Category 4 strength in the Gulf before making landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 26.
In total, Andrew destroyed over 50,000 homes and caused an estimated $25 billion in damages. The storm caused 23 direct fatalities, according to NOAA.
In recent years, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center reported an increased tropical track accuracy by at least 75%, citing improvements to satellite data and weather instrumentation.
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