Hurricane Wilma

Template:HurricaneActive Hurricane Wilma is the 21st named storm, twelfth hurricane (both record-tying) and sixth major hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It is also the third Category 5 hurricane of the season, beating the records set by the 1960 and 1961 seasons.

It is the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and the 10th most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded, the other 9 being typhoons. It also has the lowest pressure ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, a record previously held by Hurricane Gilbert. Wilma is the third Category 5 hurricane to develop in October, the other two being Hurricane Mitch of 1998 and Hurricane Hattie of 1961. It is the second 21st storm in any season, and is the earliest formation of a season's 21st storm by nearly a month.

Wilma is currently a major threat to parts of the western Caribbean including Cuba, Central America and especially northern Honduras, the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and possibly Florida in the United States within the next few days.

The National Hurricane Center also warns of a strong cold front (causing temperatures to fall around 20°F and containing considerable moisture of its own) approaching the eastern United States that could drag Wilma into the New England states of the United States after impacting Florida. If this prediction holds true Wilma would combine with the strong Arctic storm to produce a "powerful storm" that might wreak havoc in the already flooded regions of the American northeast. [1]

Hurricane Wilma

Duration	Oct. 15, 2005 - present

Storm history

In the second week of October 2005, a large and complex area of low pressure developed over the western Atlantic and eastern Caribbean with several centers of thunderstorm activity. This area of disturbed weather southwest of Jamaica slowly organized into Tropical Depression Twenty-four on October 15.

It reached tropical storm strength at 5 am EDT October 17 (09:00 UTC), making it the first storm ever to use the 'W' name since alphabetical naming began in 1950, and tying the record for most storms in a season with 1933. Moving slowly over warm water with little wind shear, it strengthened steadily and became a hurricane on October 18. This made it the 12th hurricane of the season, tying the record set in 1969.

Hurricane Wilma at peak intensity, with 175 mph winds and a record-breaking central pressure of 882 mb. Satellite photo from 9:15 AM (EDT) on October 19, 2005.

Hurricane Wilma began to rapidly intensify during late afternoon on October 18 around 4 pm EDT. Over a 10 hour period Hurricane Hunter aircraft measured a 78 mbar (2.30 InHg) pressure drop. In a 25-hour period from the morning of October 18 to the following morning, the pressure fell 90 mbar (2.65 InHg). In this same 25 hour period, Wilma strengthened from a strong tropical storm with 70 mph (110 km/h) winds to a powerful Category 5 hurricane with 175 mph (280 km/h) winds. In comparison, Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 recorded a 78 mbar pressure drop in a 24 hour period for a 3 mbar/h pressure drop. [2]

Hurricane Wilma becoming a category 5 storm broke the record for the most category 5 storms in one season. Previously in the season, Katrina and Rita were category 5 and no season has ever had three storms of this strength.

Current storm information

File:Wilma 5-day forecast track.gif

Projected path of Hurricane Wilma.

As of 7 am CDT October 20 (12:00 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Wilma was located near 18°3′N 85°2′W or about 175 miles (285 km) southeast of the Mexican island of Cozumel, off the coast of the state of Quintana Roo. It is moving to the west-northwest at 7 mph (12 km/h). Wilma has weakened slightly but remains a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h). The minimum central pressure of 910 mbar (26.87 inHg) is up slightly from when the storm was at its peak, but is still extremely low. Wilma was the first hurricane ever in the Atlantic Basin to have a central pressure below 900 mb while at Category 4 intensity (only three other recorded hurricanes have ever had lower pressures).

Wilma is currently in an eyewall replacement cycle and has weakened following its dizzying intensification overnight on October 18-19. During its intensification on October 19, the eye's diameter shrunk to as small as 2 nautical miles (4 km), which may be the smallest eye recorded in a tropical cyclone.[3] The storm is now weakening due to the eyewall replacement cycle, although it is very possible that Wilma may regain Category 5 intensity after the cycle is completed, likely in 12-24 hours.

• For information, see the NHC's latest public advisory on Hurricane Wilma

Watches and Warnings

File:StrikeProbabilitiesforHurricaneWilma.gif

Strike Probabilities

• Hurricane warning is in effect for:
  • the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from San Felipe to Punta Allen.
  • Swan Island

• Hurricane watch is in effect for:
  • the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from San Felipe to Celestun.
  • the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Punta Allen to Punta Gruesa.
  • the Cuban provinces from Matanzas westward to Pinar del Río and the Isle of Youth.

• Tropical storm warnings are in effect for:
  • the Cuban provinces from La Habana, Ciudad de La Habana, Pinar del Río, and the Isle of Youth.
  • the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Punta Allen to Chetumal.
  • the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from San Felipe to Celestun.
  • Belize from the border with Mexico to Belize City.
  • the northern Caribbean Honduras coast from the Honduras/Nicaragua border westward to Cabo Camarón.

Preparations

Quintana Roo government officials declared a red alert on the evening of Wednesday, October 19. Classes have been suspended in the state's northern municipalities and residents of coastal areas have been advised to take refuge further inland; tourists in the resort city of Cancún and its adjacent islands have been told to return to their places of origin or head inland. In neighboring Yucatán, classes have also been suspended in 18 coastal municipalities and preparations are underway for a possible evacuation of threatened areas.[4]

In Nicaragua, civil organizations have been ordered to make hurricane preparations.

In El Salvador, the National Emergency Committee has been activated.

In Cuba, there are preparations to evacuate four western provinces, including the Isle of Youth [5].

People in South Florida, Southwest Florida, and the Florida Keys have been advised to monitor the progress of Wilma on the basis that it could affect the area during the next few days. A phased evacuation of residents from the keys in Monroe County has been ordered beginning at 12:00 pm EDT (16:00 UTC) on October 20 [6] for the sector west of the Seven Mile Bridge. All schools in Monroe County are closed Thursday and Friday.

Also in Florida, all Collier County public schools were declared closed for Friday, October 21. The schools were closed to "allow parents and staff to prepare for the storm and potential evacuation. The closings will also allow for needed preparation of schools to be used as hurricane shelters." [7]

Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers is currently under an evacuation; classes have been canceled for October 20 and 21. Eckerd College in St. Petersburg has ordered a mass evacuation to take place by 5PM on Thursday, October 20. The University of South Florida, the third-largest university in the state of Florida, will decide whether or not to evacuate by 4PM on Friday, October 21.

Impact

Some preliminary information is already starting to come in from the first affected areas. Mudslides have been triggered from the outer bands in Haiti, killing at least 12 people. [8]

Wilma claimed one death in Jamaica as a tropical depression on Sunday. It pounded the island for a third day on Tuesday, flooding several low-lying communities and triggering mudslides that blocked roads and damaged several homes.[9] Almost 250 people are in emergency shelters on the island.[10]

Orange juice futures reached the highest level in six years on Wednesday, closing up 2.9 cents at $1.118 per pound. Wilma's potential for damage to orange trees in Florida could have an impact on several upcoming growing cycles. This is compounded by problems caused last year by Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne, which devastated Florida's orange crop, destroying many groves entirely. AccuWeather.com

As dynamic models have moved the storm's track east over Florida, oil futures eased as worries of another direct hit on the oil producing regions of the Gulf of Mexico subsided.

Most intense Atlantic hurricanes ()

Rank	Hurricane	Season	Pressure
			hPa	inHg
1	Wilma	2005	882	26.05
2	Gilbert	1988	888	26.23
3	"Labor Day"	1935	892	26.34
4	Rita	2005	895	26.43
5	Milton	2024	897	26.49
6	Allen	1980	899	26.55
7	Camille	1969	900	26.58
8	Katrina	2005	902	26.64
9	Mitch	1998	905	26.73
	Dean	2007
Source: HURDAT

See also

• 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
• List of notable tropical cyclones
• List of Category 5 Atlantic Hurricanes
• Hurricane Gilbert

External links

• The Weather Channel
• The Disaster Center's Coverage of Hurricane Wilma
• Tropical Cyclones University of Wisconsin CIMMS
• Hurricane tracking and forecasts for Hurricane Wilma
• Steve Gregory's blog at Weather Underground
• Jeff Masters' blog at Weather Underground
• Webcamplaza.net
• Central Florida Hurricane Center
• SkeetoBite Weather
• Hurricane Local Statements from the U.S. National Weather Service gives evacuation orders,watches,warnings for affected areas of the United States as well as weather information