2021 Hurricane Preparation Guide

Page 43 What was the strongest wind gust recorded in Florida? BY JOE MARIO PEDERSEN ORLANDO SENTINEL A hurricane's strength is categorized in many ways but one of the most notable is its wind strength. Florida has faced a nefarious list of strong storms, but which of those storms is respon- sible for producing the strongest gust recorded in the state? To be clear, this is not a record of the maximum sustained wind speed, which is a measurement of a storm's average wind strength over the course of a minute. A gust is defined as "a rap- id fluctuation of wind speed with variations of 10 knots or more between peaks and lulls," and must continue for at least 3 seconds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For reference, the strongest gust ever recorded was in 1996 in Barrow Island, Australia when Tropical Cyclone Olivia produced an extremely powerful three-second gust of 253 mph, according to the University of Arizona. Before it, the record was held by a non-tropical wind off Mount Washington, N.H., — known for being one of the windiest places on Earth. Instruments recorded a gust of 231 mph on April 12, 1934. More locally, the official Florida record was taken in 1992 by Category 5 Hurricane Andrew. Perhaps that's not shocking for those who remember the images of bulldozed neighborhoods resembling the impact of a giant's footprint. What may surprise, however, is the strongest gust recorded by Andrew, which was unofficially 212 mph. The gust was recorded just off shore near Homestead at a resident's home. However portions of a windward wall failed, preventing further observation of the gust. On top of that, the instrument the man was using, an an- emometer, broke. The NHC researchers tried to confirm the man's reading by testing three other anemometers of the same type in a wind tunnel supplied by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Experts confirmed the gust probably was not 212 mph, and was more likely recorded at 174 mph — still a record for Florida. "Of course, stronger gusts may have occurred there at a later time, or at another site" the NHC wrote in a study of Hurricane Andrew. "Damage at that location was significantly less than the damage to similar structures located about 2 miles south of this neighborhood, implying even stronger winds than observed at this location." PHOTO PROVIDED the official Florida record was taken in 1992 by Category 5 Hurricane Andrew. Perhaps that's not shocking for those who remember the images of bulldozed neighborhoods resembling the impact of a giant's footprint. What may surprise, however, is the strongest gust recorded by Andrew, which was unofficially 212 mph. ORLANDO SENTINEL The strongest hurricane to ever hit Florida during the off season actually has some pretty significant ties to history. The year was 1863. America was about halfway through fighting for its soul during the Civil War when trouble was brewing off the coast of Florida's panhandle with the formation of what has now been determined to have been a Category 2 storm that has been dubbed Hurricane Amanda, according to the American Meteorological Society. Hurricanes weren't normally given names back in the 1800s, but this one was only declared a hurricane after meteorologists looked at historical data in 2013. It got its name from a ship it ran ashore. In a research paper for the AMS, Michael Chenoweth and C.J Mock determined a tropical system offshore had peaked at maximum sustained wind speeds of 103 mph as it bore down on the early on the morning of May 28. Until Hurricane Bonnie in 2016, Amanda was the only hurricane to hit the United States outside of the June 1 start date to the Atlantic Hurricane Season. STRONGEST STORM TO HIT FLORIDA DURING OFF SEASON

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