Hurricane Wilma

Hurricane Wilma

Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Wilma nearing record strength southeast of the Yucatán Peninsula on October 19
Formed	October 16, 2005
Dissipated	October 27, 2005
(Extratropical after October 26)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 185 mph (295 km/h)
Lowest pressure	882 mbar (hPa); 26.05 inHg (Record low in the Atlantic basin)
Fatalities	87 total
Damage	$29.4 billion (2005 USD)
Areas affected	Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Belize, Southeast Mexico, South Florida, Bahamas, Atlantic Canada
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and was the most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the western hemisphere until Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the six most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever (along with #4 Rita and #6 Katrina), Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and second-most destructive hurricane of the 2005 season. A tropical depression formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which was named Wilma. After heading westward as a tropical depression, Wilma turned abruptly southward after becoming a tropical storm. Wilma continued intensifying, and eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, explosive intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 mph (295 km/h).

Intensity slowly leveled off after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, and winds had decreased to 150 mph (240 km/h) before reaching the Yucatán Peninsula on October 20 and 21. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula, Wilma emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. As Wilma began accelerating to the northeast, gradual re-intensification occurred, and the hurricane became a Category 3 hurricane on October 24. Shortly thereafter, Wilma made landfall in Cape Romano, Florida with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). As Wilma was crossing Florida, it had briefly weakened back to a Category 2 hurricane, but again re-intensified as it reached the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane intensified into a Category 3 hurricane for the final occasion, but Wilma dropped below that intensity while accelerating northeastward. By October 26, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone southeast of Nova Scotia.