Hurricane Andrew (1992) was THE BIG ONE hitting Florida’s SE coast ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaxihQsMXjQ
Uploaded on Dec 20, 2009
Hurricane Andrew was only the third Category 5 storm to impact the U.S. when it made landfall on August 24, 1992 near Homestead, FL. A reanalysis of weather data in 2004 revealed that the storm made landfall with 166 mph winds. Until Hurricane Katrina followed in 2005, Andrew was the most costly U.S. tropical cyclone in history, with damages exceeding $26.5 billion (1992 USD). This animation was created by resurrecting archived GOES-7 satellite data.
Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Most costly in dollars, but I do not believe in strength, certainly not in lives lost.
This may be the strongest.
Hurricane Camille was a ferocious Category 5 hurricane when it hit Mississippi on August 17, 1969. Camille’s 190 mph sustained winds at landfall were the highest winds ever recorded for a U.S. landfalling hurricane.
http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/surge_details.asp