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Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and was the most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the western hemisphere until Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the six most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever (along with #4 Rita and #6 Katrina), Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and second-most destructive hurricane of the 2005 season. A tropical depression formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which was named ''Wilma''. After heading westward as a tropical depression, Wilma turned abruptly southward after becoming a tropical storm. Wilma continued intensifying, and eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, rapid intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 mph (295 km/h). Intensity slowly leveled off after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, and winds had decreased to 150 mph (240 km/h) before reaching the Yucatán Peninsula on October 20 and 21. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula, Wilma emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. As Wilma began accelerating to the northeast, gradual re-intensification occurred, and the hurricane became a Category 3 hurricane on October 24. Shortly thereafter, Wilma made landfall in Cape Romano, Florida with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). As Wilma was crossing Florida, it had 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 final occasion, but Wilma dropped below that intensity while accelerating northeastward. By October 26, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone southeast of Nova Scotia. Wilma made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, Cuba, and the US state of Florida. At least 62 deaths were reported, and damage is estimated at $29.4 billion (2005 USD, $ USD), $21 billion (2005 USD, $ USD) of which occurred in the United States alone. As a result, Wilma is ranked as the fifth costliest storm in United States history. ==Meteorological history== (詳細はarea of low pressure developed on October 13 to the southeast of Jamaica, and slowly became more concentrated as upper-level wind shear gradually decreased. Dvorak classifications began on October 14, and by late October 15 the surface circulation in the system became well enough defined, with sufficiently organized deep convection, for the National Hurricane Center to designate the system as Tropical Depression Twenty-Four while located about east-southeast of Grand Cayman.〔 The depression drifted southwestward because of the influence of two ridges to its north and with warm sea surface temperatures and a favorable upper-level environment, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Wilma on October 17. Initially, development was slow, due to the large size of the storm and a flat pressure gradient. However, convection gradually organized, and from October 18 through October 19, Wilma underwent explosive deepening over the open waters of the Caribbean Sea. Around 12:00 UTC on October 18, the system intensified into a hurricane. In a 30- hour period, the pressure dropped from 982 mbar (hPa; 29 inHg) to the record-low of 882 mbar (hPa; 26.05 inHg), while the winds increased to 185 mph (295 km/h). During its intensification on October 19, the hurricane's eye shrank to as small as in diameter, becoming the smallest eye ever seen in a tropical cyclone.〔 Wilma weakened below Category 5 intensity on October 20 to 155 mph (250 km/h) due to an eyewall replacement cycle and began to turn towards the northwest and further decreased in forward speed. Late on October 21, Wilma made landfall on the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, at around 21:45 UTC with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and then again made a second landfall on the Mexican mainland six hours later and only slightly weaker. Wilma continued to slowly drift towards the north over the Yucatán Peninsula, although it weakened to a moderate hurricane while over land, it reemerged over the southern Gulf of Mexico on October 23 around 00:00 UTC. Despite Wilma spending 24 hours over land, it reemerged with little intensity lost, and began to re-intensify shortly after. This was perhaps due to its large size and because the majority of its circulation remained over the warm waters of the northwest Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. A powerful trough turned the hurricane to the northeast and accelerated its forward motion. Its large eye remained well-organized, and Wilma intensified despite increasing amounts of wind shear, briefly producing winds of 125 mph (200 km/h) before hitting Cape Romano, Florida, as a 120 mph (195 km/h) major hurricane.〔 Wilma crossed the state in about 4.5 hours and weakened to winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) after entering the Atlantic Ocean near Jupiter, Florida. Key West received several feet of water in the low-lying areas and flooded homes. The Lower Keys also experienced an unusual flood: it occurred twice. First, as the storm approached Florida, it pushed water across the keys from south to north. As the storm finally crossed into the Everglades, all the water that had been pushed by the storm was released as Wilma crossed the peninsula. The water then raced back across the Lower Keys a second time and went back out to sea. This caused additional flooding and costly damage. Possibly due to less friction of the eyewall or moving over warm waters of the Gulf Stream, Wilma again re-intensified to reach winds of 125 mph (200 km/h), before cold air and wind shear penetrated the inner core of convection. On October 26, it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, and the next day the remnants of Wilma were absorbed by another extratropical storm over Atlantic Canada.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hurricane Wilma」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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