Hurricane Andrew struck Florida as a Category 5 hurricane in 1992. It made landfall in South Florida on August 24, after crossing the Bahamas and briefly weakening over the islands.
Andrew rapidly intensified in the Atlantic on August 22–23, reaching peak winds of about 175 mph. It then crossed the Gulf Stream and regained Category 5 strength before hitting Elliott Key and the Homestead area. The storm’s compact size produced devastating wind damage across Miami-Dade County, destroying or damaging more than 180,000 homes.
Andrew caused about $25 billion in damage in Florida and 65 deaths across its full path. It was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history at the time, until Hurricane Katrina surpassed it in 2005. A common mix-up is confusing Andrew with Hurricane Michael, the next Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, in 2018.