Secure Zone Safety - Hurricane Wilma

Hurricane Wilma

Hurricane Wilma -- How Does It Measure Up?

October 21, 2005

Being the third Category 5 storm of the season, Hurricane Wilma is forcing people once again to take the proper safety precautions, including -- but not limited to -- evacuating their homes and cities. Most people are taking this storm more seriously than they did the first two (Katrina and Rita). With the remnants of the last two storms still visible, people are in a sense "over-preparing," which is better than under-preparing. The path of Hurricane Wilma is still not 100 percent known as far as the United States is concerned. It has already pounded parts of the Caribbean and other areas in the Atlantic. This storm is particularly dangerous, not because it is so strong, but because it is so unpredictable. It can hit practically anywhere from the Gulf to the Northwest Atlantic. For all residents of these areas know, it could hit them dead on, or it could breeze by them completely.

However, as of Friday, the Yucatan Peninsula was getting its share of the now-Category 4 hurricane. Parts of the Caribbean have already taken a beating, leaving them to re-rebuild once again. With Hurricane Wilma being the 21st named storm and the 12th hurricane of the season, it breaks the previous records set in 1933 and 1969. If it were to hit the United States as a Category 5, it would be only the fifth or sixth in American history.

With the end of the hurricane season only 40 days away, everyone is looking towards the Atlantic to see if there are any more storms out there. As it stands, we have reached the end of the alphabet (Q,U,X,Y and Z are not used to name storms) when it comes to naming storms. If there is one more hurricane, storm or depression, we move on to the Greek alphabet, making it the first time in history we've ever done so. No matter how destructive it can be, Hurricane Wilma is already making history as the hurricane that tied the record in one category and broke the record in another. Hurricane Wilma already has its place in the history books.