When was wilma hurricane in florida

Hurricane Wilma produced 10 tornadoes over the Florida peninsula on October, but there were no confirmed tornadoes in the Florida Keys. However, a long-lived, mesocyclonic waterspout associated with a supercell thunderstorm was visible from Key West by NWS forecasters and other residents during the afternoon of 23 October Fig.

This violent waterspout moved within three miles of the west end of Key West at closest approach, around EDT. Waterspout movement was estimated by Doppler radar to be near 40 kt toward the north-northwest.

The parent convective cell of this vortex was associated with a large outer spiral rainband of Hurricane Wilma. This waterspout would have resulted in significant property damage, had the path tracked just a few miles farther east, over Key West or an adjacent island community in the lower Florida Keys.

The man standing is near a seaweed patch on Smathers Beach, seaward of the coconut palm trees. White Street Pier is visible in the background, in front of the waterspout photograph by Tim Chapman. Casualties and Damage. No fatalities directly related to storm conditions were reported. However, one fatality occurred during the evacuation of a special needs patient. No major injuries were reported to the NWS. Scattered trees and numerous large branches were blown down throughout the Florida Keys.

General damage was reported to shingles, lightweight material roofing, vinyl membrane roofing, and foam-board roof coverings. Isolated damage was reported to exterior wall coverings.

An unknown number of mobile or prefabricated houses were damaged or destroyed. Naval Air Station Key West reported roof damage to an aircraft hanger and a technology building. A prefabricated office building housing a commuter airline collapsed at Key West International Airport, and metal siding was torn off the Air Traffic Control Tower. Widespread loss of cable-hung traffic signals was reported.

Most commercial signs of various sizes were either knocked down or blown out. Extensive power outages occurred to distribution circuits and secondary lines, and complete power failure occurred throughout all of the lower Florida Keys, including Key West.

However, power was restored quickly by utility crews within 36 hours at most locations. The vegetation in the Florida Keys looked scorched for several months after Hurricane Wilma owing to a combination of wind damage, salt damage, and the onset of a record-breaking dry season. In addition, during the next spring, most of the Royal Poinciana trees in the Keys failed to bloom. Usually, these trees begin flowering in April, peaking in late May and early June, rendering a spectacular display of orange-red flowers.

The primary damage throughout the Florida Keys from Hurricane Wilma was from storm surge flooding. Numerous vessels broke loose from moorings with losses in numerous marinas, including Boca Chica Marina. Several sailboats grounded on the shoulder of U.

Highway 1 on Big Pine Key. Numerous ground-floor slab or block homes and businesses flooded throughout the Keys. Downstairs storage enclosures, sheds, and utility rooms of elevated stilted homes also flooded. Some complete home and business losses occurred. The propane tank for the NOAA Weather Radio transmitter generator fuel tank on Sugarloaf Key floated away the supports were either blown off or collapsed in the storm surge. Several medium to large boats washed ashore along the Saddlebunch Keys.

Thousands of vehicles were rendered permanently inoperable by the high storm tides. In addition, numerous house and vehicle fires occurred throughout the Florida Keys for several days after Hurricane Wilma, owing to electrical malfunctions. Clothes washing and drying machines and other appliances lined driveways and roadways throughout the Florida Keys for many weeks after the storm.

Significant damage occurred to the Florida Keys commercial fishing industry, particularly to the spiny lobster and stone crab trappers. The strong winds and rough seas destroyed or scattered hundreds of thousands of traps. Those traps that were recovered soon acquired abnormal accumulations of barnacles, apparently due to the mixing of fresh water from the Everglades with salt water from the Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida.

Many of the remaining traps were thus locked shut by the barnacles, and extra labor was then required to access the catch, with the traps in many cases being subsequently destroyed. The high winds, seas, and currents associated with Hurricane Wilma pushed most marine navigational buoys out of position. Subsequently, the Port of Key West was closed, and recreational boating remained hazardous for several days after Hurricane Wilma. Severe beach erosion occurred along the Atlantic shores of the Florida Keys, with severe erosion noted on Gulf side beaches in Key West as well.

Most beaches were completely inundated near time of maximum storm tide. Breaking waves of six feet were estimated along the upper Florida Keys. South Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West was closed to traffic for nearly three weeks, while crews removed tons of sand and large pieces of seawall from the road see Fig. In addition, Hurricane Wilma occurred just days before the height of Fantasy Fest, Key West's annual autumn street festival, attended by up to , people. The event was postponed until December.

However, attendance was less than a third of the normal October attendance, and the local economy lost millions of dollars in hotel, restaurant, and retail revenues. The Florida Keys tourism economy suffered for several months after Hurricane Wilma.

Finally, the commercial fishing industry also suffered huge economic losses. Monroe County Emergency Management provided information regarding both wind and storm surge damage from Hurricane Wilma.

The U. Coast Guard Sector Key West provided information regarding damage to marine navigational aids. Their reviews improved the substance and the clarity of the final draft. Pasch, R. Blake, H. Cobb III, and D. Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about. However, the center of this tropical storm was some 75 miles away to the northwest.

The island was impacted by two different storm surges, at different times of the day; one on the leading edge of the storm and the second surge on the trailing side as it passed. As storm surge flooding was receding on the Atlantic side, it was only beginning on the western or Gulf of Mexico side of the island; this was the surge from the trailing side of the storm. This second surge caused flood waters to rise until about 10 am This second surge coincided with high-tide, causing flood waters to rise high and remain longer than had it occurred earlier on the Atlantic side at low-tide.

The normal high-tide for that day was predicted to be two-feet above mean-sea-level; the surge pushed water levels to almost five feet. The Old Town or downtown section of the city experienced one flood or the other; whereas the low-lying sections in the middle of the city First St, Bertha St, Flagler Avenue were inundated by surges from both directions. The federal Privacy Act of prohibits the City from releasing flood claim histories for specific properties.

Skip to Main Content. Loading Close. When Wilma became a hurricane on October 18, it tied the record dating back to for the most hurricanes in a season. However, when Wilma shot from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane on the morning of October 19, it broke the all-time record for the lowest pressure ever measured in the Atlantic Basin.

This 3-D perspective of Wilma shows a cut-away view of the eye, with cloud height on the top right side of the storm and rain rates in the lower left side of the storm. TRMM measures the cloud height with radar, which detects the location of precipitation and therefore clouds. In this image, clouds tower over 10 kilometers above the ocean around the eye. The deep ring of red at the base of the eye shows that heavy rain is falling in the same area. TRMM reveals that Wilma had a well-defined, closed inner eye of intense rain surrounded by larger concentric rings of more moderate rain.

The concentric rings are easier to see in the version of the image that does not include the 3-D cloud height overlay, available here.