Wild Weather
Hurricane Wilma
October 15 - 26, 2005 [ Category 5 ]
Wilma started as an area of disturbed weather initiated in the Caribbean Sea and was
classified as a tropical depression on October 15, 2005 and tropical storm on October
17th. By October 18th, Wilma had become a hurricane and continued to strengthen rapidly,
becoming a category 5 with maximum sustained winds around 170 mph, early on October
19th. The storm went from strong tropical storm status to category 5 status in just
24 hours, unprecedented for an Atlantic tropical cyclone. Wilma's peak wind speed,
recorded later that day, was around 185 mph.
After some weakening, Wilma made its first land fall on the island of Cozumel on October
21st as a category 4 storm (with 150 mph max. sustained winds). It later crossed Mexico's
Yucatan Peninsula as a slightly weaker category 4 storm before emerging into the Gulf
of Mexico as a category 2 (with 100 mph max. sustained winds). Weather patterns now
steered a strengthening Wilma northeastward toward southern Florida. Wilma had maximum
sustained winds around 120 mph (category 3) before making landfall in southern Florida
on October 24th. Fortunately, the storm was moving quickly and only took 4.5 hours
to move across the Florida peninsula. After Wilma emerged into the Atlantic, the storm
strengthened again before succumbing to unfavorable weather conditions and weakening
as it moved northeastward.
Wilma was blamed for 23 fatalities in Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Florida, and the Bahamas.
Because of Wilma's large size, the swath of damage in Florida was quite large and left
98% of South Florida without electrical power. Wilma's estimated U.S. property damage
is around $21 billion.
Use your mouse or finger and slide across the image to see the tracks of Wilma.
Back to 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season Highlights 
