Formation and track of Hurricane Andrew in 1992

Hurricane Andrew is a storm that originated from a tropical wave over the central Atlantic in 1992. It first started as a low-pressure system off the coast of Africa and seemed no different from many other atmospheric ripples that form every summer in this part of the world (Pimm, Stuart & Gary 19). However, the seemingly innocent weather system slowly gained enough strength and by August 16, 1992 Hurricane Andrew had grown into a significant tropical storm and officially given the name: "Andrew."

Shear from strong wind prevented intensification of the storm at first. However, the following day saw a decrease in shear, which allowed the strengthening of the depression thus becoming Tropical Storm Andrew. On August 18, convection associated with the storm diminished due to increase in wind shear. Andrew later headed westward due to the effect of a high-pressure system. It then increased rapidly before crossing Bahamas (Pimm, Stuart, & Gary 24). Andrew became category 5 hurricane 5 days after its start. Its system saw a decrease in its system thus dropped to a category 4 hurricane. However, it re-intensified into a category 5 hurricane a day later before landing on Florida, Elliot Key, and Homestead.

Hurricane Andrew came into view in the Gulf of Mexico as a category 4 hurricane and slowly turned northward in the direction of the United States' Gulf Coast. Before reaching Louisiana, Hurricane Andrew decreased in strength becoming a Category 3 hurricane. Hurricane Andrew was a category 4 storm with a persisted speed of 225km/hr. At Louisiana, Hurricane Andrew had wind speeds of 200km/hr and passed the central Gulf Coast of United States with a speed of 225km/hr (Pimm, Stuart & Gary 21). It had a wind speed of 225km/hr while passing across the Gulf of Mexico. During the start, the wave was moving westward at 20kt. On 20th August, surface wind speeds increased to 40kt while the wind speeds at an altitude of 1500ft were 70kt. Its maximum surface speed winds around Florida were 125kt.

Path it took

Hurricane Andrew initially started from the coast of Africa on August 14, 1992. High-pressure ridge on its northern side made the wave move westward. Its speed increased up to 80km/hr and eventually spiral bands caused the wave to turn northwest. High pressure cells in the southeastern U.S. resulted to the change of direction of Hurricane towards the west. It reached the east-southeast of Bahamas on August 22 and later landed in Florida with wind speeds of 169km/h (Pimm, Stuart & Gary 22). Favorable conditions accelerated Hurricane Andrew in the westward, therefore, intensifying it. On August 23, Hurricane Andrew became category 5 hurricane with the highest wind speeds of 280km/h before reaching Bahamas. The cyclone weakened when crossing the banks of Bahamas before hitting the islands of Berry in Bahamas with winds of 240km/h. Hurricane Andrew hit Elliot Key with winds of 266km/h on August 24 and later hit Florida. Homestead was its next path some few minutes after hitting Florida.

Increased convergence caused the convection in the eyewall to increase while the eye was moving onshore in Florida. Hurricane Andrew crossed Florida using fours before appearing in the Gulf of Mexico with wind speeds of 217km/h. It turned west-northwest as its eye was still well defined. This change was because of weakening of its northern ridge. Decrease in its high-pressure system made the hurricane decelerate toward the northwest as it was approaching the Gulf Coast of the United States. It later landed at Louisiana at a place with less population west-southwest of the City of Morgan. On August 27, Hurricane Andrew, while entering Mississippi, weakened significantly when turning north and northeast thus becoming a tropical storm in a matter of hours (Pimm, Stuart & Gary 23). It accelerated northeastward as the depression started merging with the frontal system approaching it, and by noon August 28, Hurricane did not meet the requirements of a tropical cyclone. Its remaining followed the northeast direction before losing its character in the frontal zone of the states of Mid-Atlantic.

Timeline

Hurricane Andrew commenced as a tropical wave on August 16 before intensifying its strength to become a hurricane. It became a tropical storm named Andrew on August 17 before becoming a minimal hurricane on August 23. It later became a category 5 hurricane before dropping to a category 4 hurricane on the same day (Pimm, Stuart & Gary 24). However, it increased its strength on august 24 while making a landfall on Elliot Key, Florida, and Homestead. By August 28, Hurricane Andrew had a frontal system in the Appalachian Mountains.

Locations of Landfalls

The locations of Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana made them prone to attack by hurricane Andrew. 29 islands constitute Bahamas on the Atlantic Ocean making them possible destination for hurricanes. Its location is in the northwest of Caicos Islands, and southeast of the U.S. This lies along the path of Hurricane Andrew thus suffering the attack. Florida is located on the west part of the Atlantic Ocean and east of the Gulf of Mexico (Pimm, Stuart & Gary 15). Hurricane Andrew travelled westwards from central Atlantic thus hitting Florida. Louisiana coastal lands stretch along the coast of Gulf of Mexico, a distance of over 130km. The westward movement of Hurricane Andrew made it possible for it to hit Louisiana.

Aid and Key Players

The U.S. government offered financial support to Bahamas after the effects of Hurricane Andrew. Canada, Japan, and The UN also contributed aid in support for the recovery of Bahamas. Additionally, The American Red Cross offered tents, sheets, and cots to Bahamas. The United States gave Florida and Louisiana $11.1 billion as aid. President Bush also declared Florida as a disaster area in support for Florida. Governor Chiles asked the Florida state to raise taxes as a way of raising funds to aid the recovery of Florida after the destruction. The congress passed a resolution to offer aid package for recovery (Smith, Stanley & Mccarty 35). In his mission to aid people in Florida, Director Kate Hale criticized the federal government for delaying in delivering aid. As a result, President Bush promised assistance, which came almost immediately. FEMA also provided aid after the destruction to Louisiana and Florida. However, many people criticized FEMA for failing to respond immediately to the disaster. At that time, its primary role was to distribute loans and grants for rebuilding areas after disasters. There was no need for foreign aid at first but storms increased the need for aid. This is because the storm caused much destruction in most areas. In September 23, President Bush passed the Congress' resolution into law for aiding Florida.

Conclusion

Hurricane Andrew remains to be the worst natural disaster that affected the U.S. This is because of the extent of damage that the hurricane caused. Moreover, it also caused many losses to many companies in its path. Urbanization in the U.S. causes hurricanes thus increasing disaster susceptibility.

Work cited

Pimm, Stuart L., and Gary E. Davis. "Hurricane Andrew. (Cover Story)." Bioscience 44.4 (1994): 224-229. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

Zhang, Yang, and Walter Gillis Peacock. "Planning For Housing Recovery? Lessons Learned From Hurricane Andrew." Journal Of The American Planning Association 76.1 (2010): 5-24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

Tilmant, James T., and Richard W. Curry. "Hurricane Andrew's Effects On Marine Resources. (Cover Story)." Bioscience 44.4 (1994): 230-237. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

Smith, Stanley K., and Christopher Mccarty. "Demographic Effects Of Natural Disasters: A Case Study Of Hurricane Andrew." Demography 33.2 (1996): 265-275. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.