Hurricane Wilma swept across Florida on Monday, killing six people and leaving 6 million without power. The six new deaths in Florida brought the hurricane's death toll to 25.
Hurricane Wilma was classified as a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall in Florida early Monday, with winds up to 125 mph. The storm weakened to a Category 2 hurricane as it moved across Florida, and wind speed dropped to 105 mph, still a very dangerous storm with the power to damage many homes and businesses.
By early afternoon, Wilma had left Florida and moved out to sea over the Atlantic, where it gathered new strength and again became a Category 3 hurricane. Fortunately, it's current path seems to be taking it farther out to sea, so expert observers don't expect it to threaten other parts of the U.S.
Updated: Saturday, October 22, 2005
After pounding the Caribbean coast of Mexico on Friday and Saturday, destroying buildings and killing at least three people, Hurricane Wilma began to weaken as it moved north.
Hurricane Wilma was reclassified a Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 110 mph, but expert observers expect the storm to regain strength as it passes over the Gulf of Mexico on its way to Cuba and Florida.
More evacuations have been ordered in Florida. Dawn Henthorm, About Guide to Florida for Visitors, provides a firsthand account of what's happening in Florida as people there prepare for Hurricane Wilma to arrive, probably sometime on Monday according to the latest estimates.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Hurricane Wilma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, quickly became a Category 5 hurricane with the potential to cause catastrophic damage in the Caribbean and Central America, across southern Florida, and up the east coast of the United States.
A Deadly Storm
By Wednesday evening (October 19, 2005), heavy rains caused by Hurricane Wilma had already killed a dozen people in Haiti, and more deaths were expected as the storm moved toward Cuba, Central America and the United States.
Most Powerful Hurricane in History
Early Wednesday, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane measured top-level sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 882 millibars, the lowest ever observed in the Atlantic basin. That made Hurricane Wilma the strongest Atlantic storm on record, with more potential force than either Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, which caused such devastation along the Gulf Coast earlier this year.
Still Dangerous, but Losing Power
By Wednesday evening, Hurricane Wilma's top-level winds had fallen to speeds of 160 mph (260 kph), and forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predicted that the storm could weaken further after it enters the Gulf of Mexico on Friday.
By Thursday morning, Hurricane Wilma had been downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane—hurricane intensity is measured on a five-step scale, with Category 5 being the highest classification—and it is still expected to be a full-force hurricane (possibly Category 3) when it hits southern Florida this weekend.
Heavy Rains Predicted
The National Hurricane Center is predicting Hurricane Wilma will drop 25 inches of rain in the mountains of Cuba, up to 15 inches of rain on Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and 12 inches of rain on Mexico and Honduras. Orders have been given to evacuate the Florida Keys, where waves of 35-50 feet high are predicted, and storm warnings have been issued throughout the Caribbean and Central America as well as the southern United States.
Intensity of Hurricanes Increasing
Hurricane Wilma is the 21st named storm and the 12th hurricane of the Atlantic storm season this year. It ties the records for most storms in a season, set in 1933, and most hurricanes in a season, set in 1969.
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 through November 30) still has six weeks to go, but it is already responsible for three of the fiercest hurricanes on record—Katrina, Rita, and now Wilma.
Hurricane experts report that conditions in the Atlantic are creating a cyclical period of increased storm activity that could last another 20 years or more. Some climatologists also believe that global warming may be contributing to the intensity of hurricanes.
Check here regularly for updated news coverage and information:
News Coverage
- National Hurricane Center
- The View from Florida
- What Causes Hurricanes?
- NOAA Satellite Images of Hurricane Wilma
- Fast Facts on Hurricanes
- Storms of 2005
Be Prepared
