Cyclone WILMA Powers Up to Cat 4 Strength

WILMA Strengthens to a Dangerous Category 4 Cyclone

Cyclone WILMA has sustained wind speeds of about 215km/hr with gusts of 260km/hr

WILMA is moving WSW (255 degrees) at an average speed of about 20km/hr and is currently located about 1,000km east of Noumea, New Caledonia.

Cyclone WILMA struck Tonga’s Ha’apai Islands with category 3 force, devastating food crops and causing damage to many buildings, a report said.

WILMA is now headed for New Zealand.

Cyclone WILMA. IR Satellite Image (NHC Enhancement). Source: CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

TS Bianca and Cyclone Wilma Up

Approximate locations of (L) Tropical Storm Bianca (10S) and (R) Cyclone Wilma (08P).  Click image to enlarge.

Oceania Weather Animation for January 2011

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TS BIANCA – IR/WV Difference  Satellite Image. Source: CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

Cyclone WILMA and its projected path. IR Satellite Image (NHC Enhancement). Source: CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

This image of tropical cyclone Wilma was captured by the TRMM satellite shortly after attaining hurricane intensity on Jan. 24, 2011, at 21:28 UTC. The yellow and green areas indicate moderate rainfall between 0.78 to 1.57 inches (20 and 40mm) per hour. Source: NASA

Visible image of Cyclone Wilma was captured by NASA’s Aqua satellite on Jan. 25 at 00:59 UTC.