Hurricane Wilma (24L) over Mexico

Hurricane Wilma was taking aim at Mexico’s Cozumel Island when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite took this image on October 21, 2005. The slow-moving storm wouldn’t officially make landfall for another five hours after this image was taken. Wilma was a strong Category 4 storm, with winds near 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour), down from the powerful Category 5 storm it had been the day before. In this image, Wilma has a classic hurricane shape with a large eye and tightly swirling bands of clouds.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published October 21, 2005
Data acquired October 21, 2005

Source:

Terra > MODIS

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MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth