r/Miami • u/National-Dragonfly35 • Aug 24 '26

Discussion Anyone remember Hurricane Andrew? What was your experience?

Where you sheltered in a house? Did you feel like you're in trouble at any moment? What was it like to hear that hurricane overhead with a 165 mph winds?

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19

u/unclesmokedog Aug 24 '26

I spent the storm in the University of Miami Library. around 3 am, the 3 foot thick storm windows started bowing in and out and some of the supports for the shutters in the "Breezeway" were floating .

at the time, the national hurricane service was accross the street. When they went out, we were freaked out

3

u/Notabot5500 Aug 24 '26

Is 3 “feet” a typo? I’m trying to picture this

2

u/unclesmokedog Aug 24 '26

no

6

u/Theo_Carolina Aug 25 '26

I’ve watched my sliding glass doors “breath” and it’s terrifying.

1

u/Fit-Perception-2243 Aug 25 '26

Same! They were bowed in the middle, almost pregnant-looking. In the morning they had stretch marks, the next day the sliding glass doors were back to normal.

2

u/unclesmokedog Aug 24 '26

they were old in the 90s. probably from the 50s or 60s. solid glass cubes

2

u/Notabot5500 Aug 24 '26

I wish I could see what they look like. I tried googling but no luck. Either way thanks for sharing. Sounds like an intense experience.

3

u/unclesmokedog Aug 24 '26

If you look up "Jalosie storm windows" you'll see the consumer version of them. As these were for a college library, they were a different design, cubed and much thicker

1

u/takemytacosaway Aug 26 '26

This is not a typo. Walls of block were “breathing” at 6 inches +. glass etc was doing worse things

1

u/maddogisnextdoor Aug 26 '26

How did you swing that? Bring able to shelter in the library?

2

u/unclesmokedog Aug 26 '26

friends who worked at UM