Hurricane Andrew
August 16-28, 1992
Hurricane Andrew was the third most intense storm at the time
of landfall to strike the U.S. mainland this century. It struck
Dade county, Florida on August 24 as a category 4 hurricane with
a central pressure of 922 mb, the third lowest for a hurricane
at landfall this century. Andrew made a second U.S. landfall on
a sparsely populated section of the south-central Louisiana coast
as a category 3 hurricane. In southeast Florida, Louisiana, and
Mississippi, rainfall totals in excess of seven inches were recorded.
Rainfall amounts near five inches occurred in several neighboring
states. Estimated damages in the U.S. of $25 billion make hurricane
Andrew the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. It
was reported Andrew destroyed 25,524 homes and damaged 101,241
others. Andrew was directly responsible for 26 deaths, but including
indirect loss of life the death toll was 65.
Ocean Turbidity
Immediately after the passing of hurricane Andrew
through south Florida a large turbidity signal is apparent in
the vicinity of Florida Bay, Florida and to the north as well as in Biscayne
Bay, Florida (on the east coast). During summer months bottom reflection
can compose a significant part of the signal in Florida Bay but
the difference image reveals that Andrew was responsible
for large changes. Within the southwest Florida coastal area,
the highest turbidity values are to the left of the hurricane
track (after image) but the largest regional affected extent
lies to the right as may be expected with the stronger hurricane
winds in this region. Smaller turbidity changes are also apparent
off Cape St. George in the Florida panhandle region.
| Before | After | Difference (after minus before) |
Sea Surface Temperature
The difference image reveals overall cooling
on the order of 2-4 °C with some local cooling up to 6 °C.
The after image depicts a large cool plume on the western
side of Florida to the north of the hurricane track.
| Before | After | Difference (after minus before) |
For scientists more time series Satellite Images in GEOTIFF Format
are available
