This is my Hurricane Andrew chase video. The footage was taken during Andrew's landfall on the Southeast Florida coast, at Coconut Grove, south of Miami. Though Andrew was extremely small, moving very quickly and made landfall about 15 miles to the south, my location was right at the edge of the hurricane's northern eyewall. Unfortunately the entire peak of the storm was at night, however, using a portable spotlight, I was able to capture footage throughout the entire event. Even with the challenging video conditions, Andrew's ferocity is clearly obvious in this footage. The roar of the wind is deafening, punctuated by breaking glass and other debris. Peak winds occur between 13 through 17 minutes into the video, and are sustained near 130mph with gusts to 150mph. The anemometer at the National Hurricane Center (about 2 miles west of my location) failed after recording a gust to 164mph. Based on post-analysis, Andrew is now estimated to have had sustained winds of 165mph with peak gusts near 200-215mph at landfall in South Florida, making it one of only three Category Five hurricanes ever to strike the United States.
Tags: Hurricane Andrew Severe Weather Storms Tropical Cyclone Florida Hurricanes 1992 Extreme Wind Disaster Category Five
