Hurricane Wilma Approaches Landfall in Mexico
A slow-moving and unpredictable Hurricane Wilma began pounding Mexico this morning with winds of 145 miles an hour (233 kilometers an hour).
“As it stands now, there will be a significant impact from this system over the northeastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula,” said Dave Roberts, a U.S. Navy forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Keith Blackwell, hurricane researcher at the University of South Alabama’s Coastal Weather Research Center, said the storm will stall over the peninsula for a day or more.
That stalling will cause massive damage and allow the storm to dump as much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain on the peninsula, he said.
More: news.nationalgeographic.com
Mexico evacuations begin as Wilma closes in
Mexico has begun evacuations on Wednesday of high risk areas of the Yucatan peninsula, a major tourist draw, as powerful Hurricane Wilma churned closer.
The island of Mujeres close to the holiday resort of Cancun, was believed to be one of the most at risk of being targeted by Wilma, the most powerful storm recorded in the Atlantic.
"Some of the computer models are showing it getting closer and closer to the peninsula, and we may be facing a potential landfall in some areas of the northeast of the Yucatan, in the area of Isla Mujeres,"
Hurricane Wilma Scrubs Mexico's MTV Awards
Hurricane Wilma Forces MTV to Postpone Latin American Music Awards; New Date Not Set
The approach of Hurricane Wilma has forced MTV to postpone its Latin American music video awards ceremony, which had been scheduled for Mexico's Playa del Carmen resort.
Dulce Gordillo, MTV's Mexico spokeswoman, confirmed the postponement and said a new date for the show hadn't been set.
The cable network had shifted the program from Thursday to Wednesday to avoid the hurricane, which was forecast to pass close by Mexico's Caribbean coast Friday.
More: abcnews.go.com
Hurricane Wilma heads for Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Wilma strengthened in the Caribbean Tuesday and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico, where it seemed likely to spare battered U.S. oil and gas fields but threatened storm-weary Florida.
The rapidly intensifying storm also menaced Honduras and Nicaragua with up to 10 inches of rain, compounding the woes of Central America. More than 1,000 people in Guatemala and El Salvador were killed by landslides and floods triggered by Hurricane Stan this month.
Wilma was expected to strengthen into a major hurricane with winds of more than 110 mph by Thursday and its likely
Wilma slams Mexico, threatens Florida
In the early afternoon on Friday, Oct. 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma was moving slowly northwest with the eye 35 miles off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. The Category 4 hurricane is currently packing 145 mph winds with higher-speed gusts. Wilma is expected to turn northeast toward southern Florida while dropping as much as 40 inches of rain in parts of Cuba along the way.
With Wilma, the Atlantic Ocean's 21st named storm this year, the 2005 season has tied the record for the most named storms in a year. Pressure readings on
TUI cancels trips to Mexico due to Hurricane Wilma, 300 customers affected
TUI AG said it has cancelled all trips to Yucatan, Mexico, until Oct 25 on account of Hurricane Wilma, affecting 300 customers.
It said it will try to offer its customers alternative destinations.
The tour operator currently has around 1,000 guests in Mexico, who will be transported back to Germany as soon as weather conditions allow.
Source: forbes.com
Wilma may become hurricane, heads for Gulf of Mexico
Four of seven major weather models predict Tropical Storm Wilma, which could become a hurricane by Tuesday, will head for the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Earlier Monday morning, most of the models forecast the storm would crash into the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico or Belize later this week.
By late morning, most of the forecasts showed the storm would turn north toward western Cuba and Florida's Gulf Coast.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center still forecast the storm would graze the northeastern tip of the Yucatan and enter the Gulf of Mexico where it could
In the early afternoon on Friday, Oct. 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma was moving slowly northwest with the eye 35 miles off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. The Category 4 hurricane is currently packing 145 mph winds with higher-speed gusts. Wilma is expected to turn northeast toward southern Florida while dropping as much as 40 inches of rain in parts of Cuba along the way.
With Wilma, the Atlantic Ocean's 21st named storm this year, the 2005 season has tied the record for the most named storms in a year. Pressure readings on Wednesday broke the record
Tourists flee huge Hurricane Wilma in Mexico
Roaring waves pounded Mexican beach resorts on Thursday and thousands of tourists were ready to be evacuated as powerful Hurricane Wilma plowed through the Caribbean on its way to Florida.
Cuba evacuated 100,000 people and residents of southern Florida stocked up on drinking water and gas to prepare for Wilma, which spun off the coasts of Mexico and Belize packing winds of around 145 mph (230 kph).
Described by forecasters as extremely dangerous, Wilma killed 10 people in mudslides in Haiti earlier in the week.
Expensive beachfront hotels all along Mexico's "Maya Riviera" coast emptied
UPDATE 5-Fierce Hurricane Wilma threatens Mexico, Fla.
Hurricane Wilma became the fiercest Atlantic hurricane ever seen as it churned toward western Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Wednesday, and threatened densely populated Florida after killing 10 people in Haiti.
The season's record-tying 21st storm, fueled by the warm waters of the northwest Caribbean Sea, strengthened with unprecedented speed into a Category 5 hurricane, the top rank on the five-step scale of hurricane intensity.
Oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico were expected to escape this storm but Florida's orange groves were at risk.
Early Wednesday, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane measured
UPDATE 4-Tourists flee huge Hurricane Wilma in Mexico
Roaring waves pounded Mexican beach resorts on Thursday and thousands of tourists were ready to be evacuated as powerful Hurricane Wilma ploughed through the Caribbean on its way to Florida.
Cuba evacuated 100,000 people and residents of southern Florida stocked up on drinking water and gas to prepare for Wilma, which spun off the coasts of Mexico and Belize packing winds of around 145 mph (230 kph).
Described by forecasters as extremely dangerous, Wilma killed 10 people in mudslides in Haiti earlier in the week.
Expensive beachfront hotels all along Mexico's "Maya Riviera" coast emptied of
