The eye of a hurricane is a region of relative calm in the middle of the swirling storm. Hurricane eyes range in size from 4 to 40 miles (7 to 74 kilometers) in diameter (although Hurricane Wilma had an eye only 2 miles [3.2 kilometers] wide) and can be so free of clouds that sunshine can be seen. The more intense the hurricane, the smaller the eye tends to be. The eye is surrounded by the “eye wall,” an apt phrase because it is literally a circular wall that can reach 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) into the sky. Once past the eye wall, the hurricane resumes, with winds blowing as fast as 150 miles per hour (278 kilometers per hour) or more.