COZUMEL, Mexico (20 Oct 2005) -- Hurricane Wilma, which weakened to a still fierce Category 4 storm after breaking intensity records in the Caribbean Sea, prompted widespread evacuations as it approached the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday. Wilma briefly became the fiercest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane ever recorded on Wednesday as it churned toward western Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan. Densely populated southern Florida was in the storm's projected path in the coming days. Wilma was expected to miss the oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, but Florida's orange groves and sugar cane fields were at risk. Wilma's top winds had weakened to 150 mph as of 5 a.m. EDT Thursday, with higher gusts. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said it could strengthen again. The core of the hurricane was projected to pass over the northern Yucatan near Cozumel early Friday, sending a 10-foot surge of sea water over the coast, forecasters said. The season's record-tying 21st storm, fueled by the warm waters of the northwest Caribbean, strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane, the top rank on the five-step scale of hurricane intensity. A U.S. Air Force plane measured top sustained winds of 175 mph early on Wednesday and logged a minimum barometric pressure of 882 millibars, the lowest ever observed in the Atlantic basin. That meant Wilma was briefly stronger than any Atlantic storm on record, including Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in August, and Rita, which hit the Texas-Louisiana coast in September. Computer models used to predict its long-term path diverged widely, though Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said it was still likely to slice across southern Florida as a formidable hurricane on Saturday and Sunday. Florida was hit by four hurricanes last year and has been struck by Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina and Rita this year. State emergency officials warned everyone south of the Tampa-Orlando corridor to prepare to weather Wilma's violence. FRIGHTENING STORM LOOMS Stung by criticism over a slow federal response to Katrina, the Bush administration said it was working with Florida officials to ensure "seamless coordination" in preparation for Wilma. "This is a very frightening storm that is on our doorstep," said Monroe County Mayor Dixie Spehar in the low-lying Florida Keys island chain. Authorities in the Keys, connected to mainland Florida by a single road, ordered tourists out on Wednesday and told the islands' 80,000 residents to evacuate on Thursday. | | Hurricane Wilma Mayfield said Wilma could churn up 35- to 50-foot waves over the open sea and send huge breakers over the coast. "I just don't see how the Florida Keys will get out of this without having a major impact," Mayfield said. Storm warnings were in force for Honduras in Central America, where more than 1,000 people died this month after Hurricane Stan triggered mudslides that buried entire villages. Warnings were also posted for the Yucatan, Cuba and Belize. Wilma's rains triggered mudslides that killed 10 people in Haiti. The storm was expected to dump up to 25 inches of rain on mountainous parts of Cuba, up to 15 inches in the Yucatan and up to 8 inches in Honduras and the Cayman Islands, a British colony south of Cuba. By 2 a.m. on Thursday, Wilma's center was 195 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. Fishermen took their boats to safety, MTV canceled a major Latin awards show on Mexico's Caribbean coast and authorities began evacuating 10,000 people from the coastal state of Quintana Roo. Tourists lined up at the airport to escape the beach resort of Cancun, but many flights were full. "We'll get on a bus or take a car, we're very determined," said German vacationer Ulrike Gruber, 27. Wilma was the 12th hurricane of the year and tied the record for most hurricanes in a season set in 1969. The season still has six weeks to run and has already spawned three of the most intense hurricanes on record. Hurricane experts say the Atlantic has swung back into a period of heightened storm activity that could last another 20 years. Wilma was wobbling west-northwest at 8 mph and was expected to turn northwest by later on Thursday. It was forecast to skirt western Cuba and move into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, then turn sharply northeast toward Florida. Cuba suspended school in the western province of Pinar del Rio and began evacuating thousands of coastal residents. Workers in the province hastened to protect tobacco seedlings for the next harvest of leaves that make Cuba's famed cigars. |
