Tropical Storm Wilma did not yet have a hurricane’s typical well-organized spiral structure or powerful winds when this image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite at 2:15 p.m. local time, on October 17, 2005. At the time of this MODIS observation, Wilma was building in power and size and developing the shape and form of a full-fledged hurricane, a status it would achieve within the next day.
Wilma was the 21st named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. This made 2005 the most active hurricane season on record, tied with 1933, which also had 21 named storms. Wilma’s projected course as it gained hurricane status was to continue north into the Gulf of Mexico where warm waters were predicted to fuel its continuing growth.
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NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
