answers: Category 5
context: mph (270 km/h). Passing directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County (now known as Miami-Dade County), Andrew stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations. In total, Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead. Andrew began as a tropical depression over the eastern Atlantic Ocean on August 16. After spending a week without significantly strengthening itself in the central Atlantic, it rapidly intensified into a powerful Category 5 hurricane while moving westward towards the Bahamas on August 23. Though it briefly weakened to </s> were attributed to Andrew, with some estimates ranging as high as $34 billion. Andrew was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history at the time, but is now seventh following hurricanes Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Sandy (2012), Harvey (2017), Irma (2017), and Maria (2017). In the Bahamas, Andrew produced hurricane-force winds in North Eleuthera, New Providence, North Andros, Bimini, and the Berry Islands. The storm first struck North Eleuthera, where it produced a high storm surge. At a small village in the northwestern portion of the island, more than half of the houses were destroyed and the rest of the buildings </s> barometric pressure of 953 mbar (hPa; 28.15 inHg). Without much change in strength, the intense hurricane quickly traversed the Upper Keys and Florida Bay before emerging midday on September 8 into the Gulf of Mexico. Situated in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on September 8, Betsy began to strengthen and accelerate towards the west and then northwest, under the influence of the same ridge of high pressure that had forced it southwestward three days prior. At roughly the same time, hurricane forecast operations were handed over the Weather Bureau Office in New Orleans, Louisiana. During its trek
question: what was hurricane andrew when it made landfall