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A changing wind, a rising sea
The storm did not end when the first violent winds weakened. Miami entered the eye, people stepped outside, and the returning circulation drove wind and water from a different direction.
The charts show the approach.
The regional chart joins observations from many places into one analysis. It should be read beside Miami’s station record, not as a minute-by-minute measurement at the downtown office.
Calm inside the eye was not an all-clear.
After the first destructive winds, the eye brought a temporary lull. People left shelter to inspect damage or move between buildings. When the opposite side of the circulation arrived, the wind returned from a different direction and struck already weakened structures.
The waterfront remained dangerous after the center passed.
Wind direction, storm tide, waves and floating wreckage turned streets and gathering points near the water into continuing hazards. The weather chart and photograph record different scales of the same event.