Tourists Ordered From Keys As Category 5 Wilma Nears Florida
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. Visitors were ordered out of the Florida Keys on Wednesday as Hurricane Wilma exploded into the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, with meteorologists warning that it could maintain devastating power as it crossed Florida from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic this weekend.
Wilma's top sustained winds reached 175 mph early Wednesday in the most rapid strengthening ever recorded in a hurricane, said Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. At the same time Tuesday, Wilma was only a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph.
Hurricane Wilma at 10:45am on Wednesday, October 19.
Its confirmed pressure readings Wednesday morning dropped to 882 millibars, the lowest minimum pressure ever measured in a hurricane in the Atlantic basin, according to the hurricane center.
Forecasters said Wilma was stronger than the devastating Labor Day hurricane that hit the Florida Keys in 1935, the strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record.
But Wilma wasn't expected to keep its record strength for long, as higher disruptive atmospheric winds in the Gulf of Mexico around the hurricane should weaken it before landfall, Cobb said.
Gulf water temperatures are about 1 or 2 degrees lower than those in the Caribbean, which should inhibit its strength more, he added.
It is still forecast to be a potentially devastating Category 3 or 4 hurricane at landfall, although experts acknowledge they have little skill in making strength forecasts.
Wilma's potential path could threaten coastal areas in southwestern Florida such as Punta Gorda that were hit by Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm that was the first of seven hurricanes to hit Florida or pass nearby since last year. Charley struck on Aug. 13, 2004.
Paul Malbon anxiously watched Wilma's progress from the five-story Best Western waterfront hotel he owns and runs in Fort Myers Beach.
Its ground floor had sand and walls of water shoved in by Charley's storm surge last year, but everything was quickly repaired.
"I don't wish bad luck on anybody else but I hope it doesn't come here," he said Wednesday.
When asked whether he thought the area might get slammed again, he replied: "Only the man upstairs knows the answer to that one. It don't look good at the moment."
Wilma was also expected to move across the peninsula quickly, which means it wouldn't weaken much over land, Cobb said. That means it's possible Atlantic coast cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach could also be hit by winds nearly as strong as the west coast, he said.
Wilma also grew into a larger storm Wednesday, with hurricane-force winds stretching out up to 50 miles from its center, up from 15 miles earlier in the day.
The hurricanes that have hit Florida caused damage estimated at more than $20 billion and killing nearly 150 people.
Monroe County officials ordered visitors out of the Florida Keys starting at noon Wednesday. Tourists are generally told to leave ahead of others on the lengthy chain of islands connected by one highway.
Collier County officials haven't ordered anyone to leave the Naples area, but "we are telling those folks who are more comfortable evacuating to go ahead. If they wait there could be road congestion and other problems," said Jaime Sarbagh, a county emergency management spokeswoman.
In Punta Gorda, some homes and businesses remain boarded up from Charley. More than 6,800 federal trailers and mobile homes remain scattered around the state as temporary housing from the six storms, with 934 in Charlotte County alone.
The state routinely replenishes emergency supplies of water, food and ice at staging points across Florida, so no additional action is needed, emergency management spokesman Mike Stone said. Florida supermarkets and home repair chains also stocked extra food, ice and other supplies ahead of an expected onslaught in stores.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, Wilma was centered about 325 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and about 500 miles south of Key West. It was moving west-northwest near 7 mph, forecasters said.
Forecasts from the National Hurricane Center in Miami show Wilma could hit western Cuba or the Yucatan Peninsula before heading into the Gulf of Mexico by Friday.
Jamaica, Cuba, Nicaragua and Honduras are getting heavy rain bands for Wilma. Computer models show Wilma taking a sharp turn toward Florida and picking up forward speed over the weekend as it gets caught in the jet stream, strong prevailing winds that generally blow toward the east, forecasters said.
Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi appeared out of Wilma's path, sparing them more devastation.
Max Mayfield, director of the hurricane center, cautioned southern Florida residents of a dangerous storm surge should Wilma hit the peninsula.
To avoid potential flooding from Lake Okeechobee, water managers began emptying Palm Beach County canals on Tuesday. But officials said previous hurricane preparations and dry weather in the past two weeks has left ample room for additional waters in the lake.
Ten to 15 inches of rain was expected in mountainous terrain in Cuba, with some areas getting up to 25 inches. Four to 12 inches was expected in the Caymans, Honduras, Jamaica and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Wilma became this season's 12th hurricane on Tuesday, tying the record for most hurricanes in an Atlantic hurricane season since record-keeping began in 1851. It is also the 21st named storm, tying the record set in 1933.
