Target: Southwest Florida
MIAMI -- Hurricane Wilma, now a Category 3 storm with sustained winds around 115 mph as of the 11 p.m. advisory on Oct. 23, is expected to make landfall somewhere in south Florida around dawn Oct. 24, likely around Naples or Marco Island, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The fast-moving storm is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm in the early morning hours and still be a Category 2 storm when it reaches the East Coast sometime in the afternoon, the NHC said.
Storm surge flooding, heavy rains, large sea swells and possible tornadoes are expected as Wilma approaches.
In Florida, watches and warnings are in effect from Steinhatchee River to the north on the West Coast around to Fernaandino Beach in the north on the East Coast.
Elsewhere, watches and warnings for Western Cuba, including the Isle of Youth, and for the northwest Bahamas, including Nassau, Grand Bahama and the Abacos, remain in effect. -- K.S.
MIAMI -- Hurricane Wilma, as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 140 mph, made landfall over Cozumel, Mexico, around 4:30 p.m. Oct. 21 and continued across the Yucatan Peninsula towards Cancun bringing with it heavy rains and coastal storm surge flooding well above 10 feet.
The slow-moving storm was expected to drop 10 to 20 inches of rain over portions of the Yucatan and western Cuba, with isolated amounts of 40 inches possible as the storm passes, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Rain bands are expected to hit southern Florida, especially the Keys, by Sunday, with between two and four inches possible.
The latest forecast from the NHC has Wilma on a course to reach southern Florida, somewhere between Tampa and the Florida Keys, by Monday afternoon. Depending on how long the storm stays over Mexico and other forces that affect it on its way over the Gulf of Mexico, the storm is forecasted to decrease to a Category 1 or 2 storm when it reaches Florida.
On its way through the Caribbean earlier in the week, Wilma is blamed for one death in Jamaica and 11 in Haiti from flooding and landslides caused by the winds and rain.
Meanwhile, historic Tropical Storm Alpha, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, formed over the weekend in the Antilles and brought heavy rains and wind to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The storm is projected to join up with Wilma in the early part of the week before completely dissipating over the Atlantic.
Next on the storm list -- if need be -- is Beta, followed by Gamma. The Atlantic Hurricane Season officially ends Nov. 30.
To contact TravelWeekly.coms managing editor Kimberly Scholz, send e-mail to [email protected].