#kasper rambles

The National Atmospheric and Ocean Administration, or NOAA, is looking at data for the 1992 hurricane season and says "folks, we're predicting this to be an above average season, with 12 names storms, 6 of which will become hurricanes and 2 of which will become major hurricanes." This was in part due to warm waters turning in the Atlantic. 

So the season officially starts. On April we have a subtropical area that won't form. Same with Tropical Depression 1 and 2, which formed on June 25th and July 24th respectively. So that accounts to one storm per month. Not too exciting. 

So then August arrives. Now, August in the past is where the bad storms will form, as the warm waters will be at peak. On the 16th, Tropical Depression 3 formed off the coast of Africa. It was small and disorganized, but he slowly worked his way up from Tropical Storm to Hurricane, obtaining an eye on August 22nd. Where a mistake was in our prediction of Andrew; we said he would make landfall on August 25th, because of how slow he was. However, that did not happen.

Still on August 22nd, Andrew rapidly intensified as he gained speed and strength, upping himself from a Category 1 to a 2, 3, and then 4. August 22nd passed, and then came August 23rd.

Andrew dropped his pressure and picked up peak winds consistent with Category 5, so he was categorized as such. He went through an eyewall replacement cycle, which all strengthening hurricanes go through. The outer eyewall chokes the inner, forming a newer eye. Andrew was now a beast...but he wasn’t actually that big! Take a look at a picture comparison between Andrew and Floyd, another bad hurricane from 1999.

So that’s good right? Smaller is less powerful? Well no. As with tornadoes, it doesn’t take a large and intimidating hurricane to cause a lot of damage.

So today, or rather tonight, the outer bands of Andrew will come ashore, with the eye making its way in the early morning. When we say “it’s come ashore” we mean “the eye has come ashore.”

We watched as Andrew cut a swath of damage, plowing everything in its path like a monster, and it was a monster. At one point, wind gusts were picked up over 200 MPH (+-321.9 KMH), which is the speed of an EF5 tornado.

Within his arrival, to the time he leaves, bound for Louisiana, the damage is immediately apparent to everyone who didn’t evacuate. Cars flipped like toys, houses destroyed, streets turned into rivers, beach erosion, and devastated lives. Andrew had truly left his mark. There’s not really a best way to describe all the damage, but there are videos posted by people who lived through it, and that sets a better idea of the damage caused by Andrew. (See footnote)

So, the days go on. Funds, the guard, Red Cross and others are sent in to help Florida. Even regular people sent in care packages to those in need. As the days went on, there was a question on people’s minds: “What can we do to prepare better for hurricanes?”

This, folks, is what makes Andrew such an important hurricane. A study was done and it was found that many of the buildings that were destroyed were not adequately made to handle such monsters of weather. It was then decided to completely take away the old building code and replace it with something new, something universal, which we still use today, not only in Florida. After Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne in 2004, a study was done and found that these building codes were standing up to hurricanes, and people were proud of the work they had done.

Of course, people who lived through Andrew can recall it as a vivid memory. He left an impression on the public and meteorologists together. We retired his name which was replaced by Alex. 

Andrew also broke some records. He still remains the costliest hurricane to his Florida, and was actually the most costliest of all until Katrina in 2005. Even today in 2017, Andrew still holds his place as the fourth costliest landfalling hurricane since observations began (according to barometric pressure, of which Andrew hit a lowest point of 922 mbar.)

The conclusion is: don’t let Andrew just become a random fact, or a statistic. He was a beast, and contributed to an entire reworking of building codes which would eventually be established in the entire US. Sure, there’s Katrina, Sandy, Matthew, but Andrew always sticks in my mind as one of the more important hurricanes, even if he’s been surpassed.