10 years after - Tangled Line

Boat/US Magazine, Nov, 2002

On the 10th anniversary of one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history, scientists have officially upgraded 1992's Hurricane Andrew to a Category 5 storm. Scientists for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used new research technology to conclude that Andrew was a Category 5, not 4, on the Saffir-Simpson scale, 5 being the most severe.

The upgrade makes Andrew only the third Category 5 hurricane on record hitting the U.S. The other two were Hurricane Camille in 1969 and a 1935 hurricane that devastated the Florida Keys. A Cat 5 has winds over 155 mph and a re-analysis of Andrew's maximum sustained winds by a team of experts put them at 165 mph when the storm made landfall in south Florida.

Andrew claimed 23 lives and did $25 billion in damages, (1992 dollars), including the destruction of scores of boats.