"We didn’t have a bad storm. It’s going to take considerable study to see exactly what did happen," says Herbert S. Saffir, consulting engineer in Coral Gables, Fla., and co-developer of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane-severity scale.

The highest gust reported in Fort Lauderdale barely exceeded 100 mph. Miami reported less. But hundreds of windows shattered in high-rises in the two cities, some in signature new construction, and up to 16,000 Florida Power & Light Co. poles need replacing. Damage was also reported at 241 substations in flat, rural areas, which company officials say is unusual for a category 3 storm. FPL has not tabulated repair costs.