Hurricane Pictures - Hurricanes from the 1990's
Satellite images provided by NOAA and NASA. Hurricane tracks courtesy of NHC.

Click pictures for close up view

Hurricane Andrew                    Hurricane Andrew Track August 23, 1992 Hurricane Andrew was the 3rd category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S. on record. Originally it was classified as a strong category 4. After additional evaluations and research it was upgraded to a category 5. It caused catastrophic damage to south Florida near Homestead. After spending only a few hours over south Florida, Hurricane Andrew restrengthened in the Gulf of Mexico turned north and made a second landfall in Louisiana as a category 3. Hurricane Andrew at the time was the costliest hurricane on record with 26.5 billion dollars in damage. Andrew also had the fourth lowest pressure of any U.S. hurricane at landfall at 922 millibars. A Hurricane Hunter aircraft measured a 10,000 foot flight level wind of 196 mph just before landfall in south Florida.

Hurricane Opal                         Hurricane Opal Track October 4, 1995 Hurricane Opal developed into a category 4 hurricane as it moved from the Bay of Campeche to the central Gulf of Mexico. It went through an eyewall cycle in where the inner eye structure weakened and was replaced by a larger one before landfall. Because of this, the winds dropped from 150 mph and Hurricane Opal made landfall as a weak category 3 hurricane. Opal made landfall near Pensacola beach, FL. Hurlburt Field airport measured a gust to 125 mph. Atlanta, GA experienced extensive tree damage with wind gusts to near hurricane force.

Hurricane Bertha                      Hurricane Bertha Track July 12, 1996 Hurricane Bertha was the first of two hurricanes to make landfall in eastern North Carolina within two months. Hurricane Bertha was at its strongest north of Puerto Rico when it was a minimal category 3 with top sustained winds of 115 mph. By the time Hurricane Bertha made landfall between Wrightsville and Topsail beaches, N.C. it had weakened to a category 2. Frying Pan Shoals measured a gust to 101 mph and New River a gust to 94 mph. Storm surge damage was not only felt on the coast, but also on many of eastern North Carolina's rivers.

Hurricane Fran                         Hurricane Fran Track September 4, 1996 Hurricane Fran was the second hurricane to hit eastern North Carolina within a two month period. In a similar fashion, Hurricane Fran made landfall at Cape Fear, North Carolina. This was just south of where Hurricane Bertha made landfall. The top wind gust was reported from a home anemometer in Wimimgton of 137 mph. Southport had a gust to 91 mph and Atlantic Beach as well as Greenville had gusts to 87 mph. Extensive storm surge flooding once again occured in eastern North Carolina as a tidal surge pushed well inland. A surge of around 8 feet was seen as far inland as Washington on the Pamlico River.

Hurricane Georges                   Hurricane Georges Track September 27, 1998 Hurricane Georges reached its maximum intensity east of the islands as a strong category 4 hurricane with top sustained winds of 155 mph. It made a total of seven landfalls as it skimmed the Leeward islands then across Puerto Rico, Hispainola, Cuba then to the U.S. Hurricane Georges made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi with a top gust of 117 mph. Tidal surge was east of the center where Fort Morgan, AL had a measured surge just under 12 feet. A wind gust of 130 mph was reported at Fajardo, Puerto Rico and 164 mph at Isabela. Hurricane Georges also caused flash flooding and mudslides in Haiti and the Dominican Republic which resulted in nearly 600 deaths.

Hurricane Mitch                        Hurricane Mitch Track October 26, 1998 Hurricane Mitch will be remembered as a powerful killer hurricane to effect Central America. Over 9000 lives were lost, primarily in Honduras and Nicaragua where at least 35 inches of rain was estimated. Another 9000+ people were listed as missing. Hurricane Mitch is only second on the list as the most deadly Atlantic hurricane. The Great Hurricane of 1780 to affect the Lesser Antilles is first. Also, Hurricane Mitch was the strongest October ever recorded up to that time. Hurricane Wilma would surpass Mitch as the strongest in 2005. Top sustained winds for Hurricane Mitch were a powerful 180 mph at its strongest east-northeast of Honduras.

Hurricane Bret                           Hurricane Bret Track August 22, 1999 Hurricane Bret formed in the Bay of Campeche and moved northward. It curved northwest and made landfall near the center of Padre Island, TX. It was the strongest hurricane to affect Texas since Hurricane Alicia. At is strongest over open water, Hurricane Bret had top sustained winds of 145 mph. Bret made landfall in a sparsely populated area of Texas, so damage was minimalized.

Hurricane Floyd                      Hurricane Floyd Track September 12, 1999 Hurricane Floyd will be remembered for its extensive flooding of the Mid-Atlantic, especially eastern North Carolina. At its strongest, east of the Bahamas, Hurricane Floyd was a strong category 4 hurricane with top sustained winds of 155 mph. Hurricane Floyd was a major hurricane that turned northward just before making landfall on the Florida east coast. With the uncertainty of the forecast, a large evacuation was issued for south Florida. Fortunately, effects from the hurricane turned out to be minimal in Florida. Floyd then made landfall near Cape Fear and brought extreme flooding to eastern North Carolina. Wrightsville Beach measured a gust to 120 mph. Some of the more notable rainfall totals were as follows: Myrtle Beach, SC 16.06", Wilmington, NC 19.06", Rocky Mount/Wilson, NC 15.15", Newport News, VA 16.57", Chestertown, MD 14", Somerville, NJ 13.34" and Bristol, CT 10.80"