Claims News Service, Oct. 19, 10:30 a.m. EDT -- Hurricane Wilma is located approximately 170 miles south-southwest of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands and packs sustained winds of around 173 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), which makes it a Category 5 hurricane. The storm is predicted to travel in a west-northwest direction and maintain its strength over the next 12 hours. Hurricane-force winds extend 15 miles from the center of the storm, while tropical storm-force winds extend 160 miles. Meteorologists said Wilma may have become the most powerful hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin as measured by its internal pressure of 884 (below the record of 888 mb recorded by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988). However, the NHC said the reading should "be used with caution" until confirmed.

The long-term NHC forecast has Wilma passing well to the south-east of the Cayman Islands, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan last year. The storm is then expected to travel through the Yucatan Channel and into the Gulf of Mexico before curving east and heading rapidly towards southern Florida over the weekend. The NHC advised all interests in the Florida Keys and the Florida Peninsula to "closely monitor the progress of Wilma".

Wilma is currently projected to make landfall along the south-western Florida coast on Saturday or Sunday. The NHC said it does not know how long Wilma will continue to be a category 5 storm, and added the hurricane is expected to weaken as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico. However, meteorologists said Wilma presents a "significant threat" to Florida and current forecasts have the storm hitting the state at between Category 2 and 4 status. Florida was hit by four hurricanes in 2004 and has been affected by hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, and Rita this year. Authorities in the Florida Keys said they plan to order tourists to leave the island chain on Thursday and evacuate 80,000 residents on Friday.

Wilma is the 21st named storm to develop during this year's North Atlantic hurricane season,

matching the record set in 1933. The storm is also the 12th hurricane to develop in 2005, which ties the record for most hurricanes in a season set in 1969. Wilma is the third Category 5 storm in the Atlantic Basin this year.

Sources: National Hurricane Center, Associated Press, Reuters News, Agence Presse France, BBC News, CNN News

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