Think about where you were on August 24, 1992 and August 26, 1992. While you may have been out relaxing in the hot summer sun, the people of Florida and Louisiana were being pummeled by one of the worst storms ever to hit the United States of America. Florida and Louisiana witnessed first hand just how devastating a category five hurricane can be. Hurricane Andrew will be remembered forever, not only by the people of Florida and Louisiana, but also by everyone in the United States. The formation of a hurricane, along with Hurricane Andrew making landfall, and the destruction it caused to the wetlands shows the impact it had on Florida and Louisiana. .
Before you read about Hurricane Andrew you must first know how a hurricane works and the destruction they cause to truly understand Hurricane Andrew's devastation. A hurricane is the largest and strongest storm our atmosphere is capable of producing. Hurricanes have as much energy as a one-megaton hydrogen bomb and sometimes may be just as destructive. "If all of it could be converted into electricity, in two days an average hurricane could release enough heat energy to supply the whole of the United States for a year" (Allaby 43). The typical hurricane begins far out to sea over the Caribbean where the water is warm. Very warm water is needed for a hurricane to form. The temperature on the surface of the water must at least be 80 degrees Fahrenheit over a large area. This is why hurricanes can only begin in the tropics in summer. A hurricane first starts off as a tropical wave. If a tropical wave persists for several days it is then known as a tropical disturbance. Sometimes a tropical disturbance will move west and develop winds up to 38 miles per hour causing it to become a tropical depression. Tropical depressions can then intensify into tropical storms with winds up to 73 miles per hour. Wind speeds over 73 miles per hour classify it as a hurricane.
