Dear Tom,
Was Hurricane Wilma a Category 5 storm when it hit the Yucatan Peninsula in 2005?
Bob Maxey
Dear Bob,
Hurricane Wilma intensified at an incredibly rapid pace, strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 24 hours as it passed over the warm Caribbean waters between Jamaica and Honduras. During this record-breaking intensification, Wilma’s central pressure dropped to 882 millibars (26.04″)–the lowest ever for an Atlantic Basin hurricane. However, Wilma maintained Category 5 status for only a day and then weakened slightly as it took aim at the Yucatan. Wilma made landfall on the afternoon of Oct. 21, 2005 on the island of Cozumel as a high-end Category 4 storm with top winds of 150 m.p.h.
Last week’s Hurricane Dean was the first landfalling Cat. 5 Atlantic Basin storm since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
