October 24, 2005: Hurricane Wilma
Just two months after going through Hurricane Katrina, Miami Springs was about to experience a Major Hurricane in the form of Category 3 Hurricane Wilma.
Hurricane Wilma approached from the Gulf of America (then called the Gulf of Mexico) on the morning of October 24, 2005 and struck Cape Romano (just south of Marco Island) at around 6:30 am.
The hurricane then crossed through the Florida peninsula, crossing from the west coast towards the east moving in a northeasterly direction. As a result, Miami Springs received strong hurricane force winds as the southern side of the storm raked through our area.
The storm caused significant damage throughout the city including downed trees, downed power lines, roof damage, crushed cars, and canopies destroyed.
Above you can see caution tape surrounding a downed powerline.
The golf course wasn’t spared either. Above you can see the toppled shade canopy at the Miami Springs Golf Course Driving Range.
Large trees were toppled across the neighborhood blocking many roadways.
Many homes lost roof tiles, but we didn’t see complete roof collapses.
Even lamp posts and benches suffered under the intense winds from Hurricane Wilma.
This Royal Palm on the Circle was left with a single palm frond
The vehicle above was crushed by the weight of the tree that feel on it.
The home shown above lost a significant amount of its wood fencing that couldn’t hold back the hurricane force winds.
The Sav-A-Step on North Royal Poinciana Boulevard lost a portion of its sign during the storm.
The images above and the images below are a reminder that we live in hurricane country. For the residents that have recently moved in, we can’t tell you when, but we can tell you most assuredly that Miami Springs will experience more hurricanes again.
Outside of Miami Springs, we ventured to downtown Miami to see skyscrapers that had lost many of their windows during the storm.
