Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensification led to a 24-hour pressure drop of , setting a new basin record. At its peak, Hurricane Wilma's eye contracted to a record minimum diameter of . In the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane, and was the second costliest hurricane in Mexican history, behind Hurricane Otis in 2023.
Its origins came from a tropical depression that formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, headed westward, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which abruptly turned southward and was named Wilma. Continuing to strengthen, Wilma eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, explosive intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h). Wilma's intensity slowly leveled off after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, and winds had decreased to before it reached the Yucatán Peninsula on October 20 and 21. After crossing the Yucatán, Wilma emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. As it began accelerating to the northeast, gradual re-intensification occurred, and the hurricane was upgraded to Category 3 status on October 24. Shortly thereafter, Wilma made landfall in Cape Romano, Florida, with winds of . As Wilma was crossing Florida, it 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 last time, before weakening while accelerating northeastward. By October 26, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone southeast of Nova Scotia.
Early in Wilma's duration, flooding and landslides caused 12 deaths in Haiti and 1 death and about $93.5 million in damage in Jamaica. The Yucatán Peninsula experienced intense winds, torrential precipitation, and high storm surge. Wilma damaged 28,980 homes and 473 schools. The hurricane caused $4.6 billion in damage and eight deaths in Mexico. In Cuba, the storm damaged crops, roads, railways, 7,149 homes, 364 schools, and 3 hospitals. A total of 446 dwellings were destroyed. Damage throughout Cuba reached about $704 million. In Florida, strong winds impacted much of the southern portions of the state, while storm surge led to coastal flooding, especially in Collier and Monroe counties. The former, where the storm made landfall, suffered about $1.2 billion in damage, with 16,000 businesses and homes impacted to some degree. In the Miami metropolitan area, Palm Beach County reported damage to nearly 59,000 businesses and homes, while 5,111 residences in Broward County and at least 2,059 others in Miami-Dade County became uninhabitable. Approximately $19 billion in damage and 30 deaths occurred in Florida. Within the Bahamas, Wilma caused one death and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes, mostly on Grand Bahama. Overall, at least 52 deaths were reported and damage totaled to $26.5 billion, most of which occurred in the United States.
Meteorological history
In mid-October 2005, a large monsoon-like system developed in the Caribbean Sea. A broad low pressure area formed on October 13 to the southeast of Jamaica, which slowly became more defined while acquiring additional deep convection. On October 15 at 18:00 UTC, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) classified the system as Tropical Depression Twenty-Four while located about east-southeast of Grand Cayman. The depression drifted west-southwestward through a favorable environment, including warm sea surface temperatures, due to a high-pressure area over the Gulf of Mexico, a mid-tropospheric anticyclone to the east-northeast of the storm, and weak and poorly defined steering flow. The depression turned southwestward and strengthened into a tropical storm on October 17, whereupon the NHC designated it Wilma. Initial intensification was slow, due to Wilma's large size and a flat pressure gradient, although the associated convection gradually organized.
On October 18, Wilma curved west-northwestward and intensified into a hurricane, and subsequently underwent explosive deepening over the open waters of the Caribbean Sea. In a 30–hour period through October 19, Wilma's barometric pressure dropped from ; this made Wilma the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, based on pressure. During the same intensification period, the winds increased to a peak intensity of 185 mph (295 km/h), making Wilma a Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. An eyewall replacement cycle caused Wilma to weaken below Category 5 status on October 20. The storm then drifted northwestward toward Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a result of an increase in mid-level ridging to the northeast. Late on October 21, Wilma made landfall on the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, with sustained winds of . About six hours later, 03:30 UTC the next day, Wilma made a second landfall on the Mexican mainland near Puerto Morelos, but with winds reduced to 135 mph (215 km/h).
The hurricane weakened over the Yucatán Peninsula to Category 2 intensity, but gradually re-strengthened once it reached the Gulf of Mexico, despite a significant increase in wind shear. Wilma re-intensified into a Category 3 hurricane early on October 24 as it accelerated to the northeast, steered by a powerful trough. After passing northwest of the Florida Keys, the hurricane struck southwestern Florida near Cape Romano around 10:30 UTC with winds of . Wilma rapidly crossed the state and weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Jupiter. The cyclone briefly re-intensified to a Category 3 hurricane while passing north of the Bahamas later on October 24 while absorbing the smaller Tropical Storm Alpha to the east. The hurricane passed west of Bermuda on October 25. After cold air and wind shear penetrated the core of convection, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 26 approximately southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, before it was absorbed by another extratropical storm a day later over Atlantic Canada.
Records At 08:01 UTC on October 19, a dropsonde from a hurricane hunter measured a barometric pressure of in the eye of Wilma, along with sustained winds of ; the wind value suggested that the central pressure was slightly lower, estimated at . This is the lowest central pressure on record for any Atlantic hurricane, breaking the previous record of set by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988; this value is also the tenth-lowest recorded worldwide officially. Wilma's intensification rate broke all records in the basin, with a 24–hour pressure drop of ; this also broke the record set by Gilbert. At the hurricane's peak intensity, the Hurricane Hunters estimated the eye of Wilma contracted to a record minimum diameter of .
While striking Mexico, it dropped torrential rainfall on the offshore Isla Mujeres. Over 24 hours, a rain gauge recorded of precipitation, which set a record in Mexico for the nation's highest 24–hour rainfall total, as well as the highest 24–hour rainfall total in the western hemisphere.
When Tropical Storm Wilma formed on October 17, it became the 21st named storm of 2005 season, which broke the record for most tropical cyclones in a single season, 20, set in 1933. An additional unnamed subtropical storm was added to 2005's tally after the season was over, making Wilma actually the 22nd storm of the season. With Wilma, an entire alphabetic 21-name list was fully used up for the first time, necessitating the naming of subsequent storms in that season by letters of the Greek alphabet. No season would again have 22 storms or make use of the Greek alphabet for storm names until 2020.
Preparations
The various governments of the nations threatened by Wilma issued many tropical cyclone warnings and watches. At 09:00 UTC on October 16, a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were posted for the Cayman Islands; these were dropped three days later. A tropical storm warning was issued in Honduras from the border with Nicaragua westward to Cabo Camaron at 15:00 UTC on October 17. In Belize, another tropical storm warning became in effect at 15:00 UTC on October 19 from the border with Mexico to Belize City. On October 21, the tropical storm warning in Honduras was discontinued at 03:00 UTC, while the other in Belize was canceled twelve hours later.
The Mexican government issued hurricane warnings from Chetumal near Belize to San Felipe, Yucatán; a tropical storm warning was extended westward to Celestún. Officials declared a state of emergency in 23 municipalities across the Yucatán, and placed Quintana Roo and Yucatán under a red alert, the highest on its color-coded alert system. About 75,000 people evacuated in northeastern Mexico, including about 45,000 people who rode out the storm in 200 emergency shelters, many of them tourists. Schools were canceled in Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Campeche, up to 15 days in some areas. Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica – the MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica – were canceled due to the hurricane, originally scheduled to occur in Playa del Carmen on October 20.
The Cuban government issued several watches and warnings in relation to Wilma. By October 22, a hurricane warning was in place for the city of Havana, as well as the provinces of La Habana and Pinar del Río. A tropical storm warning was also issued for Isla de la Juventud, and a hurricane watch was issued for Matanzas Province. The Cuban government mobilized 93,154 workers to help evacuate 760,168 people across the island's western provinces. The evacuees generally stayed with family, friends, or in storm shelters. Officials closed all schools nationwide during the passage of Wilma and later Tropical Storm Alpha. During Wilma's passage, 41 hotels closed, of which five remained closed for two weeks after the storm. Many businesses, banks, and government institutions were closed for several days due to the storm. Along the coast, 554 boats were moved to protect them during the storm. Farmers moved 246,631 livestock, more than half of them cattle, to avoid the expected high waters. Passenger travel was halted for all trains nationwide, as well as ferry service between Batabanó and Isla de la Juventud. Poor weather conditions forced three airports to briefly close – José Martí International Airport in Havana, Juan Gualberto Gómez in Varadero and Jardines del Rey in Cayo Coco.