One year ago today

[Scorpion]

We were just a few hours from finding out that recon report containing the information of 162 kt FL winds and the 901 mb pressure. Hard to believe that was the last time the board was on edge over a significant hurricane.

[Derek Ortt]

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/blo ... ndex.shtml

reliving the events from one year ago here

[Jim Cantore]

We have a thread going on this

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=90587

[Brent]

That was an incredible night. It had taken a long time to get to Cat 1 and then all of the sudden exploded. I remember when that first Cat 5 at flight level reading came back how shocked everyone was, and oh and who can ever forget that TINY pinhole eye?! Unbelievable and amazing. I have actually enjoyed not losing sleep and following storms every waking hour and everyday for weeks this year.

[SWFLA_CANE]

What an experience...This time last year my wife and I were in Cancun Mexico. Waking up to see that Wilma was now the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin was a horrible experience. Knowing that Cancun had a bulls-eye on it and not knowing if we were going to get out was not an experience I would like to go through again. Also knowing that Wilma was then forecasted to impact our home in Southwest Florida was also on our minds, considering we were not worried about our property but about our one year old son that was with my parents. The day that followed was hectic. We changed our flight to depart just prior to Wilma's landfall only to find out later that the flight was canceled. We had to struggle to find another flight. On Wednesday night at around 11:30PM we found a flight that was supposed to leave on Thursday at 2:30PM. On Thursday we made it to the Cancun airport to see the airport being evacuated of non-ticketed passengers. We were fortunate, we took off and were the second to last flight to leave Cancun Airport prior to the airports closing. We had to return home to prepare for the inevitable landfall in the Naples area. All in all everything worked out, we lost a few roof tiles and had our window smashed by a flying piece of plywood but we felt lucky to make it home and take care of our son.

[isobar]

That was quite a tense experience SWFLA CANE, trying to get out of one landfall and into another. Glad everything worked out.

[Derek Ortt]

one year ago, I was one terrified individual who actually had to consider the destruction of his city of residence as a distinct possibility. Looking back on it, thank God it sat over the Yucatan for as long as it did (not for the Mexicans of course, but even so, since it hit at 130KT, the damage may not have been much less had it have hit and moved) as it lost its inner core, preventing intensification beyond 110KT, despite one of the most favorable outflow regimes I have ever seen in the GOM, with the cold front enhancing the outflow jet to the north.

Had it have tracked 10-15 miles south and hit SW Florida with 125KT or higher, the death toll at Key West almost certainly would have dwarfed Katrina (even a track 5 miles south would have brught 125 mph winds and tidal surges at least 5-10 feet higher than observed to the island where nearly everyone ignored the mandatoy evacuation order) and instead of me taking the left fork off of the Rickenbacker Causeway which is south on US 1, I would have taken the right fork, north on I-95 for a one way trip out of Miami

[Cyclenall]

That night I won't ever forget either. I remember just looking at these sat loops of category 1 Wilma and this tiny pin-hole eye appearing on the weak hurricane. Then I remember reading the 8 pm discussion about Wilma undergoing RI. At 11:00 pm, I read the general discussion and remember thinking it was amazing how rapid she was strengthening. I saved some images of her while at category 2 strength with some of the coldest cloud tops i've seen and then went to bed. If I'd knew what was really going on I would have not gone to bed.

I woke up in the morning to turn on the TV to find the un-thinkable. I will never forget the look on the TWN (Canadian weather channel) news reporter when she said Wilma had become a category 5 hurricane. I almost couldn't believe that had happened. She also popped in a statement of "the record books were filling up".

[windycity]

Yea, Wilma was unreal. I remember watching the pressures drop and thinking how much lower can they go??

[hial2]

A time to remember.. The Sunday hurricane eve ( and days afterwards) I laid on a bed @ South Miami Hospital with a bleeding ulcer..The hospital lost power and I had an endoscopy done with portable spotlights..Oh yes,a time to remember!!

[Frank2]

One year ago tomorrow (Sunday) evening, I was driving up US 27, in advance of Wilma. I left Broward County one hour before sunset (when it seemed that Wilma would restrengthen a bit more than expected), so, it was almost dark by the time I reached Clewiston, and, remember the distant flashes of lightning as I drove through the rural darkness towards a favorite hotel in the Sebring area.

When I arrived at the hotel, it was crowded with Hurricane Charley victims - as it turned out, mostly retired senior citizens from the Naples/Fort Myers area, some having lost everything one year earlier.

The next morning, eveyone crowded in lobby waiting out our share of Wilma, though it became stressful when the power went out - we were fortunate it was out for only 90 minutes, so, the stress from that problem was not as bad as it could have been. Still, I couldn't help but notice the depression on the faces of the folks who were Hurricane Charley victims - many on this message board are young adults, and might not understand this, but, when a person is much older, in their 60s, 70s or 80s, and, have to suffer through a crisis, it is very hard on a person, since they are already weary from years of life, but, then must endure even more suffering, as did the senior citizens who evacuated to the hotel - the expression of many faces who sat in the dark lobby made this very clear...

Quite a few of us got to know each other over the coming days, since a number of guests (myself included) ended up spending 5-10 days at the hotel, waiting for water and power (especially water), gasoline and food to return to the local area - being stranded at a hotel was not a fun time, for any of us, though much harder for those who remained behind in Broward County...

Not the most pleasant memory, for sure (but worth mentioning), one year ago tomorrow...

Frank