Meteorological History of Hurricane Wilma - First Landfall

First Landfall

Shortly after peaking in intensity, the coldest cloud tops surrounding the eye warmed slightly and an outer eyewall began to develop, signifying an eyewall replacement cycle was occurring. By late on October 19, the winds in Hurricane Wilma decreased to 160 mph (260 km/h) as the inner 5-mile (8 km) wide eye weakened and the wind field expanded. Early on October 20 the hurricane weakened to Category 4 status after the small, inner eye dissipated and the 45-mile (72 km) wide outer eyewall became the dominant eye. At the time, the pressure measured 892 mbar (26.34 inHg), the second-lowest known pressure for a Category 4 hurricane (Super Typhoon Judy had a 887 mb pressure at peak intensity), and Wilma retained the large eyewall as it turned northwestward. Initially, the hurricane was forecast to re-intensify into a Category 5 hurricane, with one forecast predicting it to make landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula with winds of 165 mph (266 km/h), though Wilma remained a strong Category 4 hurricane as it tracked northwestward.

Steering currents remained weak, though a series of troughs eroded the high pressure system across the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a turn towards the north-northwest. Environmental conditions remained favorable, with the eye becoming more distinct early on October 21. At about 2145 UTC on October 21, Wilma made landfall on the island of Cozumel with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). It weakened slightly as it continued northwestward, and struck the Mexican mainland near Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, at 0330 UTC on October 22, with winds of 135 mph (217 km/h) and gusts of up to 170 mph (270 km/h).