Wilma As Seen From Space

Hurricane Wilma is now history. After hitting the southwest coast of Florida with 125 mph winds, she crossed the state and re-emerged into the Atlantic. Wilma then continued up the coast, generously donating her moisture to a nor'easter already slamming New England. As a result, parts of the region got hit with 20" of snow.

Officially, hurricane season runs until the end of November. November hurricanes are rare, however, so hopefully Wilma was nature's last word on the subject. Then again, given the records that were set during the last four months, perhaps we shouldn't get too complacent just yet.

So does the severity of the 2005 hurricane season mean that global climate change is already under way? And if so, is this change man-induced? Or is this all part of some greater natural cycle?

The debate will continue to go on. But in what can only be described as more evidence that something is, in fact, very wrong with the Earth's weather systems, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released an extremely disturbing photo of Hurricane Wilma taken by a weather satellite. It shows some unprecedented cloud patterns, and will no doubt provide more fuel for the debate over global warming.