TRMM SEES WILMA APPROACHING YUCATAN PENINSULA MEXICO

Link to image of WILMA 21, 2005 15dBZ 3d isosurface

VERY LARGE [39.6 mb]15 dbz isosurface Precipitation Radar QUICKTIME animation LARGE [5.4 mb]15 dbz isosurface Precipitation Radar QUICKTIME animation SMALL [1.5 mb]15 dbz isosurface Precipitation Radar MPEG animation

HURRICANE WILMA SETS THE ALL TIME RECORD When Wilma became a named tropical storm on the 17th of October 2005, it tied a record for the most named storms in a season dating back to 1933. When Wilma became a hurricane on the 18th of October, it tied the record for the most hurricanes in a season dating back to 1969. However, when Wilma literally exploded into a Category 5 hurricane on the morning of October 19th, it broke the all time record for the lowest pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin with a minimum central pressure of 882 mb, which was recorded by a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft. The previous record of 888 mb was set by Hurricane Gilbert back in 1988 also in the western Caribbean. Wilma shattered the record for the most rapidly intensifying storm in the Atlantic: deepening 98 mb in a 24 hour period. This beat the previous Atlantic mark of 72 mb in 24 hours also set by Hurricane Gilbert, and nearly matched the all time record for all basins of 100 mb in 24 hours set by Typhoon Forrest in the West Pacific in 1983.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is one of many satellites being used to monitor hurricanes and typhoons. Launched in November of 1997 to measure rainfall over the Tropics, TRMM has proven to be a valuable platform for observing tropical cyclones and can provide unique images and information on these storms. TRMM captured these remarkable images of Hurricane Wilma as it was approaching the Yucatan Peninsula in the western Caribbean. The images were taken at 00:55 UTC 21 October 2005 (8:55 pm EDT 20 October 2005). The first image shows the horizontal distribution of the rain intensity inside of Wilma as detected by TRMM's sensors. Rain rates in the central portion of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the only radar capable of measuring precipitation from space. The PR is also able to provide fine resolution rainfall data and details on the storm's vertical structure. Rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM reveals that Wilma has a well-defined, closed inner eye of intense rain (dark red ring) surrounded by larger concentric rings of moderate to heavy rain (green and red areas). The sharply-curved features in the rain field surrounding the inner eye are the mark of a well-developed, intense circulation. At the time of the image, Wilma was a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds reported at 130 knots (150 mph) by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). At it's most intense, Wilma had sutained winds of 175 mph.

The second image was taken at the same time and shows a vivid 3D perspective of Wilma with a cut away view of the eye. The vertical height of the isosurface (15 dBZ) is determined by the height of the precipitation-sized particles within the storm as detected by the TRMM PR. The eyewall is associated with towers just over 10 km in height (red tops), very heavy rain at the surface and intense radar echoes (as shown by very dark red areas extending vertically in the cut away view). At the time these images were taken, Wilma was drifting very slowly to the northwest towards Cozumel, Mexico. The storm is expected to eventually enter the Gulf of Mexico as a weaker hurricane before making landfall along the west coast of Florida.

ATLA.2005-10-21T0055Z________WILMA.qt ( VERY LARGE Quicktime animation )
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