Satellite image of Hurricane Wilma over Florida on October 24, 2005
Meteorological history
Duration
October 22–25, 2005
Category 3 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
120 mph (195 km/h)
Highest gusts
150 mph (240 km/h)
Lowest pressure
950 mbar (hPa); 28.05 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities
30 total (5 direct)
Damage
$19 billion (2005 USD)
Areas affected
Florida
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
History
Meteorological history
Effects
Mexico
Florida
The Bahamas
Other wikis
Commons: Wilma images
The effects of Hurricane Wilma in Florida resulted in the storm becoming one of the costliest tropical cyclones in Florida history. Wilma developed in the Caribbean Sea just southwest of Jamaica on October 15 from a large area of disturbed weather. After reaching tropical storm intensity on October 17 and then hurricane status on October 18, the system explosively deepened, peaking as the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma then slowly weakened while trekking to the northwest and fell to Category 4 intensity by the time it struck the Yucatán Peninsula on October 22. Thereafter, a strong cold front swept the storm northeastward into Florida on October 24, with landfall occurring near Cape Romano as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). Wilma continued rapidly northeastward into the Atlantic Ocean and became extratropical on October 26.
As the system drew closer, Florida governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency on October 19. Schools and government offices began closing on the following day. The storm's threat resulted in the postponement of several professional and collegiate sports games. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued many tropical cyclone warnings and watches for the state beginning on October 22. Officials ordered evacuations for southwestern Florida and the Florida Keys. However, fewer than 10% of Florida Keys residents complied with evacuation orders. No mandatory evacuations would be ordered for coastal areas of the Miami metropolitan area, though residents residing in low-lying areas and mobile homes were told to evacuate. Over 33,000 people sought refuge at a shelter in Florida.
Much of southern Florida experienced hurricane-force winds, with the strongest surface-height sustained wind speed being a 15-minute average of 92 mph (148 km/h), equivalent to a 1-minute speed of 104 mph (167 km/h), observed in Lake Okeechobee.[1] High winds left approximately 3,241,000 customers of Florida Power & Light without electricity, including roughly 98% of urban southeast Florida. Primarily due to strong winds, agriculture sustained $1.3 billion or more in damage. There was also extensive impact to businesses and dwellings, with 55,000 residences and 3,600 workplaces in Palm Beach County alone reporting some degree of damage. Storm surge also left extensive damage in some parts of the state, especially in the Florida Keys and coastal Collier County. Damage in Florida totaled approximately $19 billion. At least 30 Wilma-related deaths were reported in Florida; five people died directly due to the hurricane's impacts.[2]
^Richard J. Pasch; Eric S. Blake; Hugh D. Cobb III; David P. Roberts (September 9, 2014). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Wilma (PDF). National Hurricane Center (Report). Miami, Florida: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
^Cite error: The named reference pbp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 28 Related for: Effects of Hurricane Wilma in Florida information
The effectsofHurricaneWilmainFlorida resulted in the storm becoming one of the costliest tropical cyclones inFlorida history. Wilma developed in the...
HurricaneWilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the...
HurricaneWilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record in terms of minimum barometric pressure, with an atmospheric pressure...
The effectsofHurricaneWilmain The Bahamas were generally unexpected and primarily concentrated on the western portion of Grand Bahama. Hurricane Wilma...
Hurricane Andrew at the time the costliest disaster inFlorida, as well as the then-costliest on record in the United States. Hurricane Andrew formed...
Atlantic hurricane on record at the time, only to be surpassed by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma later in the season; it was also the strongest hurricane ever...
The effectsofHurricane Katrina inFlorida were in both the southern portion of the state and in the panhandle. After developing on August 23, Katrina...
List ofFloridahurricanes encompasses approximately 500 tropical or subtropical cyclones that affected the state ofFlorida. More storms hit Florida than...
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In July, Emily reached peak intensity in the Caribbean Sea, becoming the first Category 5 hurricaneof the season, later weakening...
major hurricane to make landfall inFlorida since Wilmain the same year, and the first Category 4 hurricane to strike the state since Charley in 2004...
later superseded by Hurricane Patricia in 2015 in the east Pacific, which had a pressure reading of 872 mbar. Preceding Wilma is Hurricane Gilbert, which had...
more fire alerts inFlorida than anywhere else in the nation. A statewide drought began in November 2005, one month after HurricaneWilma's passage through...
original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012. "HurricaneWilma exacts losses of 704 million dollars: Cuban government". ReliefWeb. November...
hurricane season was an active and destructive Pacific hurricane season. In the Eastern Pacific basin (east of 140°W), 17 named storms formed; 10 of those...
Matthew was the first hurricane to threaten the Floridan coastline as a major hurricane since Wilmain 2005. While the center of the storm did not actually...
paralleling the coasts ofFlorida and Georgia, the western portion of the outer eyewall came ashore inFlorida as a Category 3 hurricane, while the inner eyewall...
estimating $12–16 billion in damage, making it the costliest Mexican hurricane, surpassing HurricaneWilma. Due to the devastating impact of the storm on Mexico...
Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992...
1935 hurricane to an anxious Edward G. Robinson, as another hurricane bears down on the Florida Keys. Special effects were used on the Warner lot in the...
ever recorded (along with Wilma and Katrina), Rita was the seventeenth named storm, tenth hurricane, and fifth major hurricaneof the 2005 season. It was...
Atlantic Ocean in terms of 1-minute sustained winds, and the strongest since Wilmain 2005. Dorian was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, the first...
EVACUATION OF THE FLORIDA KEYS DUE TO HURRICANEWILMA. EVACUATIONS ENDED IN THE LOWER KEYS AND KEY WEST AS OF 5 PM. EVACUATIONS ARE TO END AT 6 PM IN THE MIDDLE...
one of these hurricanes was Hurricane Patricia in 2015 in the east Pacific; it had a pressure reading of 872 mbar. Preceding Wilma is Hurricane Gilbert...
Wilmain 2005. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Gilbert peaked as a Category 5 hurricane...
Global Information