Hurricane Wilma tapped into the warm Caribbean waters, and paired with low wind shear in the atmosphere, and the storm underwent a record-setting and staggering period of intensification. The storm's central pressure bottomed out at 26.04 inches of mercury (882 mb), a record that still stands for Atlantic hurricanes 20 years later.

Hurricane Wilma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, struck the Treasure Coast on Oct. 24, 2005. Although less devastating than the 2004 hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, Wilma left 3.2 million without power and caused widespread damage. Wilma served ...

According to the NHC, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Homer Simpson, is a rating of 1 to 5 based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed and its potential for significant loss of life and damage.

The Category 5 storm made landfall in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and an estimated minimum central pressure of 892 millibars.