![]() Rainfall totals on the order of 300 to 400 millimeters (12 to 16 inches: darker red areas) are located over the northeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula.Īfter drifting over the Yucatan and weakening to a Category 2 storm, Wilma was picked up by a midlatitude trough. MPA rainfall totals due solely to Wilma are shown for the period 17 to 25 October 2005 with storm symbols marking the storm track. ![]() The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides estimates of rainfall over the global tropics. The center of Wilma then drifted over the far northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula delivering torrential rains and strong winds.īefore being caught up in the westerlies, Wilma stalled out over the Yucatan, resulting in a sustained period of heavy rain and flooding. On October 21, 2005, Wilma slowly crossed over Cozumel as a strong Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds reported at up to 230 kilometers per hour (144 miles per hour) by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Powerful Hurricane Wilma Pounds The Yucatan, Rakes FloridaĪfter setting the all time record for the lowest recorded pressure in the Atlantic basin as a powerful Category 5 hurricane in the western Caribbean, Hurricane Wilma weakened to a still powerful Category 4 storm. NASA images courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team and the Goddard DAAC at NASA GSFC. The bright ocean color in the Gulf of Mexico west of Florida is almost certainly caused by sediment from the ocean floor. The sediment may have entered the water from with flood water draining into the sea it may be from storm-eroded beaches or it may be sediment from the ocean floor brought to the surface with the churning of the sea under Wilma’s winds. ![]() The Atlantic is bright blue, tainted with sediment. Here, no flooding is obvious, but the image shows signs of run-off. To the east of the park, the wetlands have been drained as cities sprung up. In fact, the line defines the boundary of Everglades National Park in the south. Along the eastern shore of the peninsula, it is as if someone drew a line to mark out the edge of the wetlands from the pale green, grey, and tan grid of cities, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Dark squares hint at the possibility of flooded fields, but the presence of water in a few fields in the September image also suggests that some of the flooding may be intentional. Between the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee is a lighter green arch of agricultural land. Elevated roads form pale strips of green through the wetlands, which are dark with water in the wake of the storm. The most obvious flooding is in the Everglades, where the wetlands readily soaked up the downpour. The lower image, taken on September 14, 2005, shows southern Florida under normal conditions. ![]() Shown in false color to increase the contrast between water and land, the image presents water in black and blue, vegetation in bright green, and clouds in pale blue and white. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured the top image on October 25, 2005. The Category 3 hurricane brought heavy rain, which caused the inland flooding seen here. Wilma moved from the Gulf of Mexico in the west, over the Everglades, and then pounded the populated eastern shore as it made its exit into the Atlantic. The patterns of flooding shown in this image are more a reflection of land use than the intensity of the storm. Dark pools of water covered sections of Florida the day after Hurricane Wilma cut diagonally the state.
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