Wilma is indeed the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. It beat out the record set by hurricane Gilbert back in 1988 by 6 millibars. Here is the list of the 6 most intense hurricanes ever recorded. What is so surprising about this list is that 3 of those hurricanes are from THIS YEAR! The hurricanes are listed by name, year, and minimum air pressure. The 3 hurricanes from this year are in bold.
Wilma - 882 mb (2005)
Gilbert - 888 mb (1988)
Great Labor Day Hurricane - 892 mb (1935)
Rita - 897 mb (2005)
Allen - 899 mb (1980)
Katrina - 902 mb (2005)
2005 is the first year in history to have 3 category 5 hurricanes.
2005 also ties the record for the most named storms in a season (21) set back in 1933.
2005 also ties the record for the most hurricanes in a season (12) set back in 1969.
This seems to be a very ominous trend... there have been more category five hurricanes in the last 3 years than there were all the way from 1979 through 2002. Many suspect that global warming, and rising ocean temperatures are to blame. It would make sense... and if the ocean surface temperatures continue to rise, we can expect the trend of killer storms to continue. 2006 will be another horrible season. In 2007, we will get a break from the madness due to El Nino, but it will pick right back up in 2008 and 2009. We're in for one long trek.
Now, about the name question:
When hurricanes were first named, the folks at the National Hurricane Center started naming them after their girlfriends, beginning with Carol, Hazel, Edna, etc. Now, hurricanes have both male and female names, alternating between the two.
This year:
Female -
Arlene, Cindy, Emily, Gert, Irene, Katrina, Maria, Ophelia, Rita, Tammy, Wilma
Male -
Bret, Dennis, Franklin, Harvey, Jose, Lee, Nate, Philippe, Stan, Vince
And if we have any more storms this year, the names will be neither male or female.
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon
etc...