This satellite image provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Wilma on October 19, 2005 over the Cayman Islands and Cozumel before striking Florida.
2005 was a record-breaking Atlantic Hurricane season.
The official hurricane season ended on November 30, 2005. The season, which officially started on June 1, 2005, broke records in several areas. The season broke 16 records for the earliest forming storms with seven tropical storms and two major hurricanes before August. 2005 was the first hurricane season, Atlantic or Pacific, to exhaust its list of names and resort to Greek letters for naming. Hurricane Epsilon was the 30th named Atlantic storm of 2005. This is THREE TIMES the average (10) for named storms in a hurricane season. 2005 is the ONLY season on record with three category 5 storms. Three of the six most intense storms on record formed in 2005. Wilma's 882 mb minimum pressure shattered 1988's Hurricane Gilbert's record of 888 mb (less is more in this case).
The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season started shattering records almost from the beginning. Tropical Storm Dennis reached hurricane strength on the afternoon of July 6th. Dennis reached its peak as the strongest recorded Atlantic storm to form before August just south of Cuba - a record that would stand only for eight days, until Emily broke it.
Emily (right) broke Hurricane Dennis's eight-day-old record for the most intense storm to form prior to August when it reached a minimum pressure of 929 mbar, along with 155 mph (250 km/h) winds on July 16. Some readings indicate that Emily may have briefly reached Category 5 strength around this time, and this will be one of the many things in review at the end of the hurricane season.
An area of disturbed weather over the Bahamas developed into a tropical depression on August 23, becoming a tropical storm on the 24th and Hurricane Katrina on the 25th. It made landfall on August 25 in southern Florida, emerging a few hours later into the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina rapidly intensified to Category 5 status on the morning of August 28, becoming the fourth most intense recorded hurricane in the Atlantic basin.
Hurricane Katrina weakened to a Category 4 as it turned northward to hit southeastern Louisiana. Hours later, it crossed the Breton Sound and made its third and final landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Pearlington, Mississippi.
The Mississippi and Alabama coastlines suffered catastrophic damage from the storm's 30-foot (9 m) storm surge. New Orleans escaped the worst damage from the storm, but levees along the Intercoastal Canal and 17th Street Canal ultimately were breached by storm surge, flooding about 80% of the city. 1,325 people have been confirmed dead across 5 US states. Once damage totals come in, Katrina will likely be the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, with damage totals expected to reach as high as $100 billion (USD).
The season's eighteenth tropical depression formed over the Turks and Caicos Islands on September 18. Later that day, it became the seventeenth tropical storm of the season. Rita slowly intensified to become a hurricane on September 20. It was at Category 1 and later Category 2 intensity as it moved south of the Florida Keys.
Rapid intensification ensued as Rita moved into the Gulf of Mexico on September 20, and Rita became a Category 5 hurricane on September 21, becoming the third (now fourth) most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. Rita made landfall near the Texas/Louisiana border on September 24.
Major flooding was reported in Port Arthur and Beaumont. Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes in Louisiana were devastated. Offshore oil platforms throughout Rita's path also suffered significant damage. Six people are confirmed dead from Rita's direct effects, and total insured damage from the storm is estimated at $8 billion. Over 100 indirect deaths have been reported.
