Cat-5 Wilma Most Powerful Ever!
Hurricane Wilma Forecast 10/19/2005
UPDATE: 11:00 a.m.: Super-Hurricane Wilma has maintained her strength. The eye is still tiny and is moving in severe "cycloidal loops." Other hurricanes do this too, but it is not as evident because the eye is usually much larger.
Members of our subscription services can see this clearly in the Cuba VIS/IR loop at these links: (Professional| Premium).
Like a skater pulling her arms in to spin faster, a decrease in the size of the eye makes for a stronger storm. Visible satellite animations from this morning make it look like the eye is getting even smaller, but it also looks less well-defined.
Hurricane Wilma Visible Satellite 10/19/05
SEE ALSO INFRARED IMAGE
This will be my last update until something noteable happens. Keep an eye on our Breaking Weather News Page for additional updates.
UPDATE: 8:00 a.m.: Confirmed recon data indicates a pressure of 882 mb which confirms that Hurricane Wilma is the most intense hurricane to ever be recorded in the Atlantic basin. Here is the government statement:
...BASED ON DROPSONDE AND FLIGHT-LEVEL DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE PLANE JUST RETURNING FROM ITS MISSION IN WILMA... THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS ESTIMATED TO BE 882 MB... 26.05 INCHES... THIS IS THE LOWEST PRESSURE ON RECORD FOR A HURRICANE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN.
UPDATE: 4:50 a.m.: New recon data* indicates a pressure of 884 mb which would make Hurricane Wilma
Here is their statement:
...AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE REPORTED* 884 MB... THE LOWEST MINIMUM PRESSURE EVER MEASURED IN A HURRICANE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN... THIS VALUE SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION UNTIL CALIBRATED...
2:45 a.m. Eastern and alarms are going off in weather centers worldwide. AccuWeather.com Professional's Joe Bastardi predicted on FoxNews yesterday around 5 o'clock that Hurricane Wilma could become a dangerous Category 5 storm. At the time, the government was predicting a rise to only Category 3 pressure. To the public, and many meteorologists, the call for a Cat 5 seemed to be going out on a limb. But at 2:35 a.m. this morning, the government issued this chilling statement:
DATA FROM A RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT* INDICATE THAT HURRICANE WILMA HAS BECOME AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. THE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE MEASURED 175 MPH WINDS AND ESTIMATED A MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 892 MB. THIS IS THE LOWEST PRESSURE OBSERVED IN 2005 AND IS EQUIVALENT TO THE MINIMUM PRESSURE OF THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS.
This means that Hurricane Wilma is now the second-strongest Category 5 storm in the history of the Atlantic basin (tying with the Labor Day Storm and exceeded only by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 (reference: Category 5 Storms).
Her strength is indicated by the tiny eye shown below on a NASA satellite image.
Wilma IR Satellite 10/19/05
*If you are interested in the actual reconnaissance data that prompted the government statements, you can hit these links: 2:35 a.m. Decoded 30-Second HDOB Message | 2:35 a.m. Raw Vortex Message (how to read) | 4:35 a.m. Decoded 30-Second HDOB Message | 4:35 a.m. Raw Vortex Message
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