Hurricane Wilma

Pre-Landfall 1 | Summary
Posting Date: October 20, 2005, 7:00:00 AM

As of 5 a.m. EDT, Thursday, October 20, 2005, Hurricane Wilma was located about 195 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico and was moving northwest at near 8 mph. Wilma is a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward from the center of the storm up to 70 miles and tropical storm force winds extend out 230 miles. Estimated minimum central pressure is 900 mb. On Wednesday, Wilma, then Category 5, became a record breaking storm, registering the lowest-recorded barometric pressure of any Atlantic basin hurricane in history at 882 mb. Wilma is currently forecast to turn toward the northwest, meandering over the northeastern Yucatan or the Yucatan Channel before turning toward the northeast sometime tomorrow. The NHC expects Wilma to make landfall eventually in southern Florida sometime on Sunday. However there is still much uncertainty about both Wilma’s future track and intensity. A hurricane warning is in effect from San Felipe to Punta Allen on the Yucatan Peninsula, including Cozumel and nearby islands. A hurricane warning is in effect for Swan Island. A tropical storm warning is in effect from south of Punta Allen to Chetumal, Mexico and for Belize from the border with Mexico southward to Belize City. In Cuba, a tropical storm warning is in effect for the provinces of La Habana, Pinar Del Rio and the Isle of Youth. In addition, a tropical storm warning remains in effect for Honduras from the Honduras/Nicaragua border westward to Cabo Camaron. If the center of Wilma makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula, coastal storm surge flooding of 7 to 10 feet above normal tide levels is expected near and to the north of the center of the storm. Wilma is forecast to produce total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 15 inches across portions of western Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula, with local amounts of up to 25 inches in some areas. AIR is monitoring Hurricane Wilma closely and will provide additional updates as the storm progresses.

Pre-Landfall 1 | Downloads
Posting Date: October 20, 2005, 7:00:00 AM