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).