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Hurricane Wilma Intermediate Advisory Number 33a
Statement as of 1:00 PM CDT on October 23, 2005

 

...Category two Wilma gradually accelerating northeastward...
...Could strengthen today or tonight over warm Gulf waters...

A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for all of the Florida
Keys...including the Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay...along the
Florida West Coast from Longboat Key southward...and along the
Florida East Coast from Titusville southward...including Lake
Okeechobee.

 
A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect along the Florida West
Coast north of Longboat Key to Steinhatchee river...and along the
Florida East Coast north of Titusville to Flagler Beach.

 
A tropical storm watch remains in effect along the East Coast of
Florida from north of Flagler Beach to Fernandina Beach.

 
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the northeastern coast of
the Yucatan Peninsula from San Felipe to Tulum...including Cozumel
and the nearby islands.

 
A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the Cuban provinces of
Ciudad de la Habana...la Habana...and Pinar del Rio.  A Tropical
Storm Warning is in effect for the Isle of Youth.  A Hurricane
Watch remains in effect for the province of Matanzas.

 
A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the northwestern
Bahamas...including the Abacos...Andros Island...Berry Islands...
Bimini...Eleuthera...Grand Bahama Island...and New Providence.

 
For storm information specific to your area...including possible
inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued
by your local weather office.

 
At 1 PM CDT...1800z...the center of Hurricane Wilma was located
near latitude 23.1 north... longitude 85.3 west or about 240
miles... 390 km... west-southwest of Key West Florida... or about
300 miles... 485 km... southwest of the southwestern coast of the
Florida Peninsula.

 
Wilma is moving toward the northeast near 12 mph... 19 km/hr.  A
continued northeastward motion and a gradual increase in forward
speed are expected today and Monday.

 
Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph...160 km/hr...with higher
gusts.  Wilma is a category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
scale.  Some strengthening is possible today or tonight.

 
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to  70 miles...110 km...
from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up
to 200 miles...325 km.  Within the past few hours... wind gusts to
64 mph... 103 km/hr... were reported at La Palma on the northern
coast of western Cuba.  Also...the Havana Cuba meteorological
office recently measured a wind gust to 62 mph... 100 km/hr.

 
The minimum central pressure recently reported by an Air Force
hurricane hunter aircraft was 963 mb...28.44 inches.

 
Storm surge flooding of 9 to 15 ft above normal tide levels is
possible along the southwest Florida coast near and to the
south of where the center of Wilma makes landfall.  Storm surge
flooding of 5 to 8 ft above normal is possible in the Florida Keys
and Florida Bay...as well as in Lake Okeechobee.  Storm surge
flooding of 2 to 4 feet is possible along the extreme southeastern
coast of Florida.  Storm surge flooding along the Yucatan Peninsula
and the nearby islands should gradually subside as Wilma moves
away.

 
Wilma is expected to produce additional rainfall accumulations of 10
to 15 inches through Sunday across portions of western Cuba and 2 to
4 inches across the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula... with isolated
maximum storm total amounts approaching 50 inches.  Rainfall across
southern Florida including the Keys through Tuesday is expected to
be 4 to 8 inches... with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches
possible.

 
Large swells generated by Wilma will continue to propagate into the
eastern Gulf of Mexico.  These swells could affect portions of the
northern Gulf Coast today and tonight.

 
Isolated tornadoes are possible over the central and southern
Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys today and tonight.

 

Repeating the 1 PM CDT position...23.1 N... 85.3 W.  Movement
toward...northeast near 12 mph.  Maximum sustained
winds...100 mph.  Minimum central pressure... 963 mb.

 
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at
4 PM CDT.

 
Forecaster Knabb