Tropical Weather Records Smashed

A lot of historical happenings have been going on in the tropics as of late, and I haven't taken the time to blog them. So here goes:

First, Hurricane Wilma. This storm set many records in the days before it plowed into Cozumel and Cancun. It set the record for the fastest strengthening ever, it's central pressure dropping 100 milibars (982mb to 882mb) in just 24 hours. Over a six hour period, the storm's central pressure dropped at a rate of 9.7mb/hour, which is a record as well. That low point of 882mb is itself a record for lowest pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, besting the 888mb of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

After stalling over the Yucatan Peninsula, Wilma has weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, and is expected to maintain that strength when it hits southwest Florida tomorrow.

Another record setting storm has developed in the central Caribbean, Tropical Storm Alpha. Alpha is the 22nd named storm the 2005 Atlantic season, which is a record. The appearance of Alpha means that the 2005 list of Atlantic hurricane names has been exhausted. The National Hurricane Center's contingency plan for running out of names is the use of the Greek alphabet for further storms...and this year is the first time that has ever happened. Most years don't even come close to using all of the available names, so this year has been extraordinary.

By Tuesday, the circulations of Wilma and Alpha (both storms extratropical at that point) are expected to merge off the Florida/Georgia coast and head north. I'll let you do the math on that one.