Hurricane Andrew anniversary

[Brent]

12 years ago tomorrow morning in the pre-dawn hours Hurricane Andrew slammed into Southeast Florida.

HURRICANE ANDREW ADVISORY NUMBER 30
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
5 PM EDT SUN AUG 23 1992

...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE ANDREW BEARING DOWN ON SOUTHEAST
FLORIDA...

HURRICANE WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST
BAHAMAS...THE FLORIDA EAST COAST FROM VERO BEACH SOUTHWARD THROUGH
THE FLORIDA KEYS TO THE DRY TORTUGAS...THE FLORIDA WEST COAST SOUTH
OF VENICE...AND FOR LAKE OKEECHOBEE. A HURRICANE WATCH AND A
TROPICAL STORM WARNING ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA EAST COAST FROM
VERO BEACH NORTHWARD TO TITUSVILLE...AND ON THE FLORIDA WEST COAST
NORTH OF VENICE TO BAYPORT.

ALL PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY...INCLUDING EVACUATIONS
ORDERED BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...SHOULD BE RUSHED TO
COMPLETION.

AT 5 PM EDT...2100Z...THE CENTER OF ANDREW WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 25.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 76.5 WEST OR ABOUT 240 MILES
...385 KM...EAST OF MIAMI FLORIDA.

ANDREW IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 16 MPH...26 KM/HR...AND THIS
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. HURRICANE
CONDITIONS ARE SPREADING OVER THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS AT
THE PRESENT TIME. HOPE TOWN ON GREAT ABACO ISLAND REPORTED WINDS TO
60 MPH DURING THE PAST HOUR. ON THE PRESENT COURSE...TROPICAL STORM
FORCE WINDS SHOULD BEGIN ON THE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA COAST AFTER
MIDNIGHT...WITH HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE PREDAWN HOURS.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS NEAR 150 MPH...240 KM/HR...IN A SMALL AREA NEAR THE CENTER.
SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE LIKELY BEFORE LANDFALL. HURRICANE
FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 30 MILES... 45 KM...FROM THE
CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105
MILES...165 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 923 MB...27.26 INCHES.

STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 10 TO 14 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDES ARE
POSSIBLE FOR SOME LOCATIONS IN THE NW BAHAMAS...WITH UP TO 18 FEET
POSSIBLE FOR THE NW SIDE OF ELEUTHERA ISLAND. STORM SURGES OF 7 TO
10 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDES ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE FLORIDA EAST COAST
AND KEYS NEAR TO WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL IN SOUTHEAST
FLORIDA...WITH POSSIBLE HEIGHTS OF 9 TO 13 FEET IN BISCAYNE BAY.
STORM SURGES OF 7 TO 11 FEET ARE POSSIBLE ON THE FLORIDA WEST COAST
NEAR AND TO THE SOUTH OF THE CENTER AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE
HURRICANE.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 8 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE PATH OF THE
HURRICANE.

REPEATING THE 5 PM EDT POSITION...25.4 N... 76.5 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD
...WEST NEAR 16 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 923 MB.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER AT 8 PM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY
ISSUANCE AT 11 PM EDT.

[WeatherEmperor]

It is hard to believe that it has already been 12 years since Andrew slammed into South Florida. I remember the violent shaking of the glass doors in the front of my house so clearly. I was just an 8 year old kid at the time. Scary stuff.....

<RICKY>

[jabber]

Remember that day very well. Did not get much where I was living at the time (West Palm Beach) but my sister sure did living in Cutler Ridge. I drove through Homested a couple days later and it looked like a war zone.

[cajungal]

I remember Andrew like it was yesterday. My first real experience with a hurricane. It started my fascination with the weather especially the tropics. I was just turned 16 only 2 months before. And I just started my junior year of high school. I remember watching the horror on TV from South Florida. It was my gut feeling that us here in southeast Louisiana would be next. I was right. Next thing I knew, school closed and sent us home early. The radio was blasting that the eye was going to pass over Terrebonne Parish. That was us.

I remember getting scared. Because I did not know what to expect. My dad boarded up our house. My mom got us can goods, extra batteries, flashlights, and got our portable radio ready. I was getting ready to ride out Andrew with my mom, dad, my brother (who was 13 at the time) and my Yorkshire Terrier; Lacey. (she was just a 7-month old puppy then.)

We all sat on our front porch waiting for Andrew. The wind started to pick up and our trees were swaying back and forth. We lost power almost right away. We went inside. The wind was so loud and it was howling. It was eerie. I could see from the cracks of my boarded bedroom that our pine trees were bending all the way to the ground. The radio announced that Schriever was receiving winds of 100 mph. Even though, the eye passed around Morgan City (25 miles due west of here.)

My brother and I slept in the hall in sleeping bags. It was the safest spot. But, I did not sleep well at all. The next day, we went outside to survey the damage. We expected much worse. We only lost a few shingles and there was tree branches everywhere. The power was not restored until 8 days later. 2 poles were cracked in half not far away. So, we sweltered in the hot August heat for awhile.

We lost our fishing camp near the gulf. Only 2 walls were still standing. That camp was a lifetime of memories. Even though, we bought another camp in almost the same location, it will never be the same.

[HeatherAKC]

As I lived in Kendall at the time, it was a night I will never forget. The scariest moments of my life were lived that night. I was 21 years old and the folks were away on vacation. Thank goodness for my boyfriend (now husband) as he helped me secure my parents property. We decided to ride out the storm in my parents Kendall home rather than his family's home in North Dade. Bad move. I could go on and on about the storm noise, the lump in my throat, the pain in my ears and the wind through the house even before a single broken window...........None the less, a night I will never forget!

[KatDaddy]

Intriguing. Interested to hear more details regarding the wind in the house BEFORE any broken windows. The pressure difference must have been beyond amazing. From time to time during wind events here along the Upper TX Coast you notice a slight movement in the air within the house. Truely amazing powerhouse event that can only be grasped by someone who experienced it. Glad you survived unharmed