Thereafter, a strong cold front swept the storm northeastward into Florida on October 24, with landfall occurring near Cape Romano as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h).

The last places to issue this warning sat within the gap between bands as tornadoes were observed as far north as Sumter, Marion, Pasco, and Polk Counties.

[citation needed] The NFL moved up its regular-season game between Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins to 7 p.m. on Friday, October 21 in anticipation of the hurricane.

This forced the Chiefs to travel on the day of the game in violation of NFL rules, which require the visiting team to be in the host city at least 24 hours prior to kickoff.

Due to roof damage caused by Wilma and the loss of power at the BankAtlantic Center, the Panthers also had to postpone their October 29 match up against the Washington Capitals.

[8] Much of southern Florida experienced hurricane-force winds, with Category 2 conditions likely occurring in Broward, northern Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties.

[9] This represented the largest electrical outage in Florida history,[1] until Hurricane Irma in 2017 caused roughly 6.7 million customers to lose power in the state.

In Palm Beach County alone – which experienced the highest damage toll at $2.9 billion – the hurricane inflicted some degree of impact to more than 55,000 homes and 3,600 businesses.

[14]: 1A  An aerial survey by an insurance disaster assessment team reported approximately 70% of businesses and homes suffered at least minor damage in six different municipalities in Broward County.

[18] Approximately 60% of Key West was submerged,[17] with the worst flooding occurring in Bahama Village, Casa Marina, Flagler, Kamien, Southernmost Point, and portions of New Town.

On Bahia Honda Key, the Calusa Beach area in particular received storm surge impacts, with two picnic shelters undermined and three others destroyed.

[18] Tidal flooding impacted beachfront structures by a minor to moderate degree at Key Colony Beach, while piers at condominiums and resorts were extensively damaged or destroyed.

[18] The bayside of Long Key, including the city of Layton, experienced significant coastal flooding, particularly at the west end of the island, where several single-family homes sustained water damage or were undermined by waves.

[25] The peak of the storm surge in Collier County occurred when the eye of Wilma had already moved inland, with sustained winds in the area being only around 40 mph (64 km/h) at the time.

[26] The hurricane left at least seven deaths in the county, two due to heart-disease related complications, one by carbon monoxide poisoning due to improper use of a generator, one after a concrete piling fell on a man, one after a person was struck by a vehicle while removing debris along Interstate 75, one by a roof collapsed onto a woman, and another after an elderly man chose to climb down stairs – because a power outage would not allow operation of the elevator at the hotel he was staying at – but he fell and hit his head after missing a step.

[35] Particularly hard hit was a condo complex on the south shore of Doctors Pass, where 80 units became uninhabitable and the roofs of all 20 buildings requiring replacement.

Two deaths occurred in Hialeah, one was a 1-year-old boy after the car he was in hit a light pole loosened during the storm and the other was a woman who died during a collision at an intersection with no traffic signal.

[70] The Homestead-Miami Speedway, built to restore Homestead's economy after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, suffered major damage to lights, grandstandings, catch fencing, and garages.

[96] State Road 80, one of the only routes between eastern and western Palm Beach County, was closed after a Florida Power & Light transmission line fell across the highway about 1 mi (1.6 km) west of Lion Country Safari.

[90] At the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), 85% of tree islands – "small, wetland forest communities imbedded in a matrix of freshwater marsh" – were damaged by the storm.

[14]: 16A The gymnasium of Forest Hill Community High School, which was serving as a shelter, had a portion of the roof torn-off and rain began to pour in.

[123] At the Lake Worth campus of Palm Beach Community College, several windows at the library shattered and then rain poured in, destroying about 1,000 books.

[91] Additionally, a church lost its steeple and the Solid Waste Authority transfer station suffered extensive roof damage.

[90] Three deaths occurred in Boynton Beach, one from a falling sliding glass door, another due to a collision at an intersection with the traffic lights out of service, and the third from a boy touching a downed power line.

Wind gusts up to 55 mph (89 km/h) in Indian River County left minor damage to trees, power lines, roofs, and out buildings.

[136] Damage in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties was minor, collectively totaling approximately $2.45 million.

[32] On the same day as the passage of Hurricane Wilma, President of the United States George W. Bush issued a major disaster declaration for Brevard, Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and Saint Lucie counties, allowing residents to receive assistance.

[140] A total of 587,228 residents applied for aid via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which exceeded any of the four significant hurricanes in Florida in 2004 – Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.

[140] FEMA operated up to 41 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) at once, which provided information to citizens about how to obtain relief via the state or federal government or volunteer organizations such as the American Red Cross.

Power outages in southeastern Florida, notably in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, compounded the difficulties South Floridians faced following Wilma.