Hurricane Andrew - Radar Loops

[discohome17]

what website

[Legend813a]

I wonder why they didn't use the WSR-74S at PBI

[breyerlove79]

me2

[PCamron90]

isn't it weird that Andrew and Katrina (the costliest hurricanes of all time) happened on the same dates?

[PelicanGuy]

They didn't.

[PCamron90]

yeah, august 23, 24.

[RCvolunteer1978]

this is my home town there was five family home destoryed the Gov workers still have not learn from this disasters I worked a shelter for 3 weeks after the storm

[lacpl70466]

I live in South Louisiana. After this storm hit fl it looped back up and made a direct hit on morgan city, la. i was only 11 at the time but it was bad guys. we didnt have power for a week. thats what made Kartina so scary bc they both hit fl then looped back up thru the Gulf, which is never good bc it will streathen due to the warm water of the gulf, scary shit

[DevilDude515]

ok, just a simple question here, no need for long, complicated answers. =) Does anyone know how long Andrew lasted? please answer as fast as you can. Thank you.

[vmax135]

At landfall in South Florida, Andrew's total duration was very short, about six hours. Tropical storm conditions began at 2:45am and ended just before 9:00am. Full hurricane conditions (75mph or greater) lasted only four hours, from about 3:20am to 7:30am. The peak of the storm was about two hours, from just after 4:00am to6:00am.

[DevilDude515]

This helped me a lot! Thank you!

[PCamron90]

you can also go to wikipedia and look up hurricane seasons.

[idontreallyknowno]

Hurricane Andrew still ownz you.

[Jangle2007]

FASCINATING!

From the "ABOUT THIS VIDEO" info, what does it mean in terms of hurricane structure and strength when the wind center and pressure centers are displaced from each other...in Andrews case by 5 miles?

[vmax135]

Hi Tim. During a tropical cyclone's life-cycle, it is not uncommon for the structure of the system to change frequently. In some cases, the location of the lowest pressure and lowest wind may not be aligned. In the case of Andrew's Florida landfall, each of these areas were sightly displaced from the center of the eye, and were rotating around each other. This phenomena doesn't necessarily have a lot to do with the storm's strength, but does show how complex the structure of a hurricane can be.

[Jangle2007]

Michael - Much appreciated. Thank you.

Perhaps like with you, I am obsessed with understanding hurricanes. I live in very northern VT, so I am not apt to start chasing soon...much as I would like to.

Would you help me again? Do you know of videos or still pics from inside Wilma's 2-mile wide eye at max intensity 19Oct12Z?...when Airforce recon was in the eye. Do you know how to learn who was on that mission? As last resort, I want to learn about 1st-hand visual obs in the eye.

[CougarBloom]

Wow.. amazing!

[youtstar212]

I have to tell you I was in both Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Wilma... and I have never seen anything like I saw on August 24, 1992. I will never forget the destruction on my block was like a war zone. At the time I was living by Metro Zoo and I mean cars flipped, stuff from people's houses two blocks over, it was crazy! I was only 6 years old but I remember it vividly. No other storm in the history of the U.S. has given more wind damage than Andrew did.

[kris6694]

The intensity of Andrew/ wind speeds will be debated for quite some time. I was a sophomore in college in '92; well before I earned my meteorology degree from Penn State. Andrew/FLA Keys storm of 1935/Hurricane Camille were all very compact storms and the only NWS verified CAT 5 US landfalls. In south-Miami, you WERE in the most intense part of Andrew-- Kendall,Cutler Ridge to Homestead area.. You survived a monster..

[youtstar212]

I have to tell you that on the very morning it hit we had to bundle up in the closet. I remember hearing a very loud freight train sound and a very loud constant whistling sound from the winds. When I was walking the down the hall shook off the foundation. It was like trying to keep balance walking on a tight rope.

[Jangle2007]

youstar - I have to imagine that observing Andrew's landfall - at borderline F2-F3 tornado strength, from anywhere within the eyewall, never mind the northern eyewall, must be by far the most horrific and amazing event that Andrew survivors will experience in their lives. The compact ferocity of this storm is still mind boggling. Makes you wonder how the survivors of the Florida Keys Labor Day storm felt the morning after.

[youtstar212]

I have to tell you that on the very morning it hit we had to bundle up in the closet. I remember hearing a very loud freight train sound and a very loud constant whistling sound from the winds. When I was walking the down the hall shook off the foundation. It was like trying to keep balance walking on a tight rope. We didn't know if the house would hold together but thank God it did.

[ancinc]

OMG im glad i was never in a hurricane or tornado

[Hurricoaster]

lol i've been in quite a few

[MrShowtime03]

Why didn't Andrew strengthen in the Gulf of mexico like Katrina did in 05? Katrina went from Cat 1 to 5 in hours while Andrew didn't really strengthen under that warm water! Some one please answer my question!

[keithsivad]

possible wind sheer, conditions have to be just right for a hurricane to strenghthen like katrina did

[vmax135]

Actually Andrew did strengthen significantly after leaving Florida. When Andrew exited southwest Florida the storm's central pressure had risen from 922mb to 951mb. Then over the north-central Gulf of Mexico, Andrew stregnthened rapidly with the pressure falling to 932mb. However, much like Katrina, the storm rapidly weakened just prior to landfall and the pressure was back up to 956mb at Andrew's third landfall at Point Chevreuil, Louisiana.

[tonymatt32]

@MrShowtime03 well it already was a category5 hurricane when it hit south dade with 175 mph winds!!!!actually the gulf stream in the atlantics warm water was responsible for this.IT went from a category 4 to a five in the last 50 miles when it came to shore.Actually it was strengthening over land when it hit.it is very hard for a category 5 storm to remain a cat 5 for very long.Katrina was a big and powerful cat3 when it hit land.THAts really all that matters .

[TiDuS217]

i wudave filmed it but my camera was blown away:'(

[TiDuS217]

haha my house was blown over wen i was in this hurricane and i was just outside frowing stuff to see how far it went

[leojmiami]

Wilma did more damage than andrew though it was a cat 2 over south florida and re strenthened of shore to a cat 3.. why did a cat 2 do more dammage than a cat 5?

[vmax135]

Hi Leo - Actually from a monetary standpoint, Wilma didn't even come close to Andrew. Wilma produced light to moderate damage over a much larger area (with some smaller areas of severe damage), but in the core areas affected by Andrew damage was extreme to total. Adjusted to 2006 dollars (not including population or wealth adjustment), Andrew's total damage was $48 billion compared to Wilma's $21 billion, almost 2.3 times more.

[leojmiami]

oh sorry there,I meant to say that most people in there opinion(in miami) say wilma seemed a stronger hurricane,

[vmax135]

Oh, that makes more sense. I can understand that... Given how small Andrew was, for many people in Miami-Dade county, they actually did experience higher winds with Wilma... so for them, Wilma was "stronger"... but they were probably nowhere near the core of Andrew. But from an actual strength perspective, there is no comparison between Wilma's Florida landfall and Andrew's.

[leojmiami]

Thats true andrew fliped cars and destroyed non mobile homes in homestead, very powerful system never experienced it..katrina was very similay, didnt andrew hit new orleans as a cat 3?

[hjgardner79]

No, it hit well west of New Orleans as a cat 3.

[tube2a]

it covered a larger area and it remained intense even tho it went over 200miles of land bcuz of its speed in movement.

[bigjoe23465]

@leojmiami i remember wilma and it was no where close to andrew i remember going outside i stayed in glouds the city just before homestead and seeing my block gone and from kendell down 2 homestead about a 35 mile path was totalled.

[idibidi12345]

Andrew was a cat 5 and Wilma was a Cat 3. It went down to a 2 around landfall. then it picked back up at a 3 when it was passing miami. Andrew was worse Cat that Katrina. Katrina did more damage because N.O was under sea level. i slept threw Katrina when it hit miami. HAHAHHA

[pussycatbond]

people r arguing over this page and com on andrew was NO cat.1,2,3, or 4 IT WAS A FUKING 5 and ketrina was a cat.1 when it hit florida then when it passed it THEN IT WAS A CAT.5 THEN hit New Orleans AND YA i live in florida!

[Juan1996east]

IT WAS 50-50

[ftolmsteen]

It just amazes me how rapidly it intensified right as it came ashore. Finally they admit it was a Cat.5, It probably had sustained winds of 160 with higher gusts nearing 190 as damage in Homestead & Cutler Ridge proves. It wasn't just mobile homes, cinder block homes completely destroyed, too. No Cat. 4 can spread that much destruction with wind alone like that.

[leojmiami]

Wilma did more and it was a CAT 2.. andrew was no cat 5 it IS A CAT 4.

[ftolmsteen]

They recently confirmed it was a cat.5 at landfall. Determined by wind recordings and the level of damage assessed. There were way too many wind readings of 160 plus (including NHC's wind gauge that registered 164 mph right before it was disabled). Mind you that is a gust, but I have read several posts saying their anamometers as well were reading in the 180's.

[ftolmsteen]

h t t p : / /e n. wikipedia . org / wiki / Hurricane _ Andrew

The storm weakened after its second landfall, maintaining strong winds but with the pressure rising to 937 mbar. While crossing the Gulf Stream, however, Andrew quickly regained its strength, and briefly regained Category 5 status as it made landfall over south Florida on August 24 with 165 mph (265 km/h) winds and pressure of 922 mbar (h

[albertox]

amazing,

great xplanation,

alberto

geographer and GIS student

[twelfthfloor777]

Well I admire your fearless attitude through all of those events you have chased. I would give anything to chase a major hurricane at the coast, or an F5 tornado. Those are two of my major life goals/wishes. And, I really want to work at the NHC as a forecaster. Hurricanes are my passion as well and I can't spend a minute not tracking them. One day hopefully...one day.

[twelfthfloor777]

No we didn't report our obs (my father was going to but we got caught up in the aftermath and forgot), but we knew Randy and actually visited his house. When I read the NHC tropical cyclone report a few years back, it was surprising to see that someone we knew had contributed to the estimated maximum winds in that northern eyewall! BTW, the landfall video from Andrew is incredible. How long have you been storm-chasing? Do you chase severe weather events as well as tropical cyclones?

[vmax135]

Wow, it really is a small world. Besides the Fowey Rocks station report and the obs from Tamiami Airport, Randy's measurement is probably the most significant wind record during Andrew's passage. Thanks for the compliment on the Andrew video, I just wish the technology was better back then or it had been a daytime landfall, night video with no lighting can be a real pain. I've been chasing for about 25 years and while I will certainly chase any type of severe weather, hurricanes are my passion.

[coldpimp2006]

Nice but katrina murderd us ! i was only like 7 or 8 during andrew so i dont remember to much of it..!

[leojmiami]

katrina was a cat 1 so andrew was nothing I dont get it andrew is more like a category 3 to me..

[stormguy07]

smoke another one dude.

[twelfthfloor777]

Amazing! We lived on 126th just west of Ludlam! Yeah, was only 4 years old. Our anemometer (I think it was a Texas Instruments one) failed right after a 178 mph gust around 5:05 AM. Only the foundations of the house were left. Ironically, we moved to Vero Beach and our house there got damaged beyond repair from Erin in 95! I'll go and check out the landfall video, will sure bring back some memories. Shame my dad didn't have a camcorder while we were there.

How did you fare in it?

[vmax135]

What a small world, my house is on 124th and 72nd, we were only blocks away. Did you guys ever report the wind observations to the National Hurricane Center? I remember there being one private observation (from a Randy Fairbanks) a little farther south, off Old Cutler who had a gust to 184kts/212mph. After testing that reading was adjusted to 154kts/177mph...almost the same as your observation!

[vmax135]

Even though you were so young, that must have been terrifying to have your house come apart around you. My house survived relative well, $67,000 in damage (1992$). The entire roof was stripped and the ceilings collapsed on the windward-side of the house, allowing tons of water to be forced into the house. The screened patio also came apart, went over the roof and disappeared. All of our accordian-shutters held though, so I think that helped minimize the damage.

[twelfthfloor777]

Great loops! I was bullseye in the center of the northern wind maximum and recorded gusts over 170 mph three times. You can see the ridiculous convection building as it makes landfall just SE of Kendall, right on top of me.

[vmax135]

Wow, where were you exactly? My home is in Pinecrest off of 124th St. What type of anemometer were you using and did it survive the entire storm? For that matter, did your house survive? From your profile, I'm assuming you were really young when Andrew hit? If you get a chance, check out my Andrew landfall footage.

[Xerxesjc28]

Very nice and informative explanation.

[vmax135]

Thanks so much for the comment.