Hurricane Wilma

October 24, 2005

Hurricane Wilma circled around the Yucatan peninsula for a few days before heading east to Florida.  While everyone was appropriately concerned that it might cause some trouble, nobody was truly prepared for what was to come.  The National Hurricane Center predicted it would make landfall as either a Tropical Storm or a Category 1 Hurricane.

As Wilma picked up speed after pummeling Cancun, it traveled quickly across the gulf.  It also became more intense by the hour.  By Monday morning, Wilma made landfall south of Naples as a strong Category 3 storm.

Wilma crossed the everglades quickly.  It reached the Gold Coast and hit Boca Raton with ferocity.  The storm was definitely a Category 3 Hurricane by this time, and it was a direct hit.

Thankfully, it left as quickly as it came.  We got hit with sustained winds of 110 mph for about 2 hours, sat in the calm eye for an hour, and were again hit by the trailing eye wall for another 2 hours.  Wilma caused unbelievable amounts of damage.  The power was out in our neighborhood for five full days.  Most gas stations didn't have power, so those who were fortunate enough to have generators couldn't even use them.  The gas lines were up to 12 hours by day three.  I kid you not.

Anyway, today is day five and we finally got power back; five days and six hours.  Some still don't have power, most businesses are still closed, and the town is still a mess.

Here is a pictorial - click to enlarge.  The evening before the storm, all was quiet.  It was a great day to go in the pool.

However, the pool didn't look so inviting the following day.

Driving up to the house was always nice; however now, it became difficult to even reach the house.

At one time, our yellow Tabebuia stood out as a focal point as a yard.  Landing on our next door neighbors house, it ended it's life as fort for the children to play on.

At one time, we had a beautiful backyard.

After the storm, the rear of the house didn't look quite as nice.

We spent the rest of the week with neighbors, cutting down trees, fixing our homes, and telling ghost stories by the fireplace, as nobody had power.