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Hurricane Wilma
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While folks in Southwestern Florida prepare for Hurricane Wilma, people on Mexico's Yucantan Peninsula are just starting to clean up. Wilma, which came ashore near the tourist beaches of Playa del Carmen, Cancun, and Cozumel, lingered over the Yucatan Peninsula for longer than forecasters predicted, pounding the heavily developed with heavy rains and ferocious winds. The storm should reach Florida by daybreak tomorrow and is expected to be a Category 2 hurricane at that time.
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While the exact path of Hurricane Wilma is still uncertain, it is likely that the powerful storm will make landfall along Florida’s western coast as a major hurricane. Evacuations are already taking place as residents of Florida seek shelter in safer areas and higher ground. Forecasters are still expecting Hurricane Wilma to weaken before it makes landfall in the U.S. due to “higher, disruptive atmospheric winds in the Gulf of Mexico”, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL.
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Information on cloud-top heights at different stages in the life cycle of the rapidly intensifying Hurricane Wilma may prove useful for evaluating the ability of numerical weather models to predict the intensity changes of hurricanes. NASA’s Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) acquired this sequence of images and cloud-top height observations for Hurricane Wilma as it progressed across the Caribbean in October 2005. Each pair in the sequence has a photo-like view of the storm on the left and a matching color-coded image of cloud-top height on the right. Cloud-top heights range from 0 (purple) to 18 (red) kilometers altitude. Areas where cloud heights could not be determined are shown in dark gray.
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The origin of Hurricane Wilma is complicated. During the second week of October, an unusually large, monsoon-like lower-level circulation and a broad area of disturbed weather developed over much of the Caribbean Sea. The system was enhanced by diffluence—the rate at which a fluid moves—from an upper-level low across the southwestern Atlantic.[1] By October 13, a broad area of low pressure developed and persisted about 150 miles (240 km) southeast of Jamaica,[2] possibly aided by the passage of tropical waves through the area at the time.[1] Convection increased and became slightly better organized, though upper-level wind shear initially prevented development. The system drifted westward,[2] and early on October 14 the convection became more concentrated and a little better organized as upper-level wind shear lessened slightly.[3]
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ISS012-E-5284 (19 Oct. 2005) --- This image of Hurricane Wilma was taken at 8:24 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 19, by the crew aboard NASA's international space station as the complex flew 222 miles above the storm. At the time, Wilma was the strongest Atlantic hurricane in history, with winds near 175 miles per hour. The storm was located in the Caribbean Sea, 340 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. (Image credit: NASA)
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An airlift of Flintstones chewable vitamins to survivors of Hurricane Wilma is being organised by the Red Cross, using a team of highly-trained velociraptors. C.A.R.E. (Cavemen And Rocks Everywhere) have ... moved in to provide assistance to Wilma's victims.
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Hurricane Wilma