At 18:01 UTC on October 19, a Hurricane Hunters dropsonde measured a barometric pressure of in the eye of Wilma, along with sustained winds of 23 mph (46 km/h); the wind value suggested that the central pressure was slightly lower, estimated at . This is the lowest central pressure on record for any Atlantic hurricane, breaking the previous record of set by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Wilma's intensification rate broke all records in the basin, with a 24–hour pressure drop of ; this also broke the record set by Gilbert. At the hurricane's peak intensity, the Hurricane Hunters estimated the eye of Wilma contracted to a record minimum diameter of 2.3 mi (3.7 km).