Atlas · Today in history · tropical
August 24 MCMXCII 1992
Hurricane Andrew landfall
Homestead, Florida — death toll estimated at 65.
Andrew made its Florida landfall at 5:05 a.m. EDT on August 24, 1992 as a small, extremely intense Category 5 hurricane — one of only four Category 5 landfalls in U.S. recorded history at the time. Sustained winds at landfall were 165 mph with gusts to 174. The storm destroyed 63,000 homes in Dade County, left 175,000 people homeless, and killed 65 directly and indirectly. Its reconstruction drove the modern Florida building code.