Hurricane Wilma, 2005
At 9:48 UTC on Monday, October 15, Tropical Storm Wilma's 45 mph winds were observed by NASA's QuikSCAT satellite. This image depicts wind speed in color and wind direction with small barbs. White barbs point to areas of heavy rain. The highest wind speeds, shown in red, south of the center of the storm. The scatterometer sends pulses of microwave energy through the atmosphere to the ocean surface, and measures the energy that bounces back from the wind-roughened surface. The energy of the microwave pulses changes depending on wind speed and direction, giving scientists a way to monitor wind around the world. 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 22nd storm, 13th hurricane, 6th major hurricane, 4th Category 5 hurricane, and 2nd most destructive hurricane of the 2005 season. Wilma is ranked among the top five most costly hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic and the fifth costliest storm in US history.
Size: 2876px × 3300px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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