Bryan Norcross: Remembering Andrew 33 years later and a new tropical storm in Atlantic

Updated at 9:15 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025

When the sun came up over southern Dade County, Florida, on Aug. 24, 1992, the landscape was unrecognizable. I saw it for the first time on television from the live helicopter late that afternoon – along with everybody else who had power. That did not include South Dade, of course. The power there was out for three months.

Hurricane Andrew's hellacious attack on South Dade lasted for less than three hours. Our modern understanding is that the peak sustained winds were 165 mph with gusts over 200 mph. But the numbers don't tell the story.

Andrew was strengthening as it made landfall. Unlike most hurricanes whose winds fade quickly after the center crosses the coast, Andrew continued at close to full force. Over land, gusts increase because