October 19,
2005 -- The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and SKYWARN are keeping an eye on Hurricane Wilma as it
threatens a possible landfall this weekend on the South Florida coast. (see full size image) As
of midweek, the HWN was still mulling its activation options. The net operates
on 14.325 MHz. Early today over the warm waters of the Caribbean, Wilma amped
up from a Category 2 to the most intense Category 5 hurricane on record, and
the National Hurricane Center (NHC)--home
of WX4NHC, which works in cooperation with
the HWN to gather ground-level weather data for forecasters--now is calling
Wilma "potentially catastrophic." A mandatory evacuation of all visitors and
nonresidents was in effect as of noon today EDT for the Florida Keys of Monroe
County, including the Dry Tortugas. Hurricanes are measured by factors such as
atmospheric pressure, winds and storm surge. Wilma's atmospheric pressure at
1200 UTC measured 882 millibars, topping the previous record of 888 millibars
set in 1988 by Hurricane Gilbert. As of 1800 UTC, Wilma was producing maximum
sustained winds near 165 MPH with higher gusts. It was some 300 miles southeast
of Cozumel, Mexico, moving west-northwesterly near 7 MPH.
