Hurricane Wilma, the only October storm on the Top 10 list, smashed Central America with Category 5 winds (reaching 185 mph) before curling up through the Gulf of Mexico. Wilma blew across southern Florida as a Category 3 hurricane and caused 22 fatalities before pushing out into into the Atlantic.

Newscom / File
Shayna Pierre Louis shrieks after she and her mother waited eight hours for emergency food stamps in West Palm Beach, Fla. Hurricane Wilma destroyed their home.