Latitude & Longitude: the location of Wilma's center at the time of message.

B:  17 Deg 03 Min N

     82 Deg 20 Min W

Minimum Height at Standard Level: the height (in meters) at which the specified pressure (in millibars) was observed.  This observation is compared to standard values to determine the overall strength of the storm. 

C:   700mb 2082m

Maximum Surface Wind (Estimated): the onboard meteorologist visually examines the surface of the ocean on the inbound flight to estimate the winds in knots.  In this instance an estimate was not made, most likely due to darkness.

D:   NA

Maximum Surface Wind Bearing/Range From Center (Estimated): the compass heading and distance (in nautical miles) from the center of the surface winds reported in section D.  Again, no estimate of surface winds was made on this flight.

E:   NA

Maximum Flight Level Wind Near Wilma's Center: the velocity (in knots) and the compass heading of maximum flight level wind during the last 100 miles into the storm.  The flight crew noted 166 kt winds bearing 320 degrees, or northwest, from Wilma's center.

F:   320 Deg 166 KT

Maximum Flight Level Wind Bearing/Range From Wilma's Center: the direction and distance (in nautical miles) of maximum flight level wind.  The maximum winds, with a bearing of 221 degrees (southwest) were encountered 3 nm from the storm's center.

G:   221 Deg 003 NM

Minimum Sea Level Pressure: is determined by either instruments on board the aircraft or a device (dropsonde) dropped into the storm's center.  Sea level pressure (in millibars) is used to determine the strength of a storm and the trend in intensity.  A decline in sea level pressure indicates a strengthening (deepening) storm. This is the lowest pressure ever observed for an Atlantic hurricane.

H:   884mb

Maximum Flight Level Temperature / Pressure Height Outside The Eye: a comparison of these values with those from inside the storm provide meteorologists with a clue as to the storm's strength.

I:  10 C / 3073 M

Maximum Flight Level Temperature / Pressure Height Inside The Eye:  The height difference at 700mb was thirty meters.  Temperature differences between the environment inside and outside the eye are a key indicator of hurricane intensity. A 14 degree difference existed.

J:   24 C / 3043 M

Dewpoint Temperature / Sea Surface Temperature Inside The Eye: the dewpoint and temperature are used to calculate the eye's relative humidity. This allows meteorologists to determine if the eye is clear of filled with clouds.  No dewpoint temperature was collected on this flight, suggesting a malfunction of the sensor. Sea surface temperatures are no longer collected.

K:   10C / NA

Eye Character:  this data is collected visually by the onboard meteorologist.  NA is reported if an eye is not present or is not at least 50% surrounded by wall clouds.  Wilma's eye was observed to be "closed" indicating the eye was completely surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms.

L:  Closed

Eye Shape/Orientation/Diameter:  Eye shape is reported using codes where C = circular, CO = concentric and E = elliptical.  Wilma's eye was reported a circular.  The second value listed in the message -- 4 -- was the size of Wilma's eye in nautical miles.  The size of a hurricane's eye and the change of size over time is yet another indicator of the storm's health. Wilma's eye is remarkably small.

M:   C4

Fix Determined By / Fix Level: This first part of the observation (before the slash) indicates the methods used to locate the center of the storm.  The presence of a code indicates that the method was used with 1 = penetration, 2 = radar, 3 = wind, 4 = pressure and 5 = temperature.  In this instance all methods but penetration were used.  The second part of the observation indicates the pressure level used to determine the center with 0 = surface (<= 1500ft), 2 = 200mb, 3 = 300mb, 4 = 400mb, 5 = 500mb, 6 = 600mb, 7 = 700mb, 8 = 800mb, or 9 = 925mb.  On this date, Wilma's center was fixed at the 700mb level.

N:   12345 / 7

Navigation Fix / Meteorological Accuracy: These observations provide an estimate of the accuracy of the aircraft's navigation system, as well as, the accuracy of the meteorological data used to fix the storm's center.  At this time the navigation system was accurate to within .02 nautical mile. Meteorological accuracy was reported to be 1 nm in this instance.

O:   0.02 / 1 NM

Remarks Section: This section first presents the mission id number and the name of the storm.  Additional remarks are at the discretion of the meteorologist and may include references to unusual features.

P:   AF308 0724A Wilma OB 16

      Max Fl Wind 168 kt SE Quad