By afternoon, Wilma was being disrupted by upper atmosphere wind in the Gulf of Mexico, forecasters said. As the storm moves north into the gulf, it will encounter water temperatures that are 1 or 2 degrees lower than those in the Caribbean, which should inhibit its strength more, Cobb said.
Still, it's forecast to be a potentially devastating Category 3 or 4 hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida, although experts acknowledge they have little skill in making strength forecasts. A Category 3 storm has wind of at least 111 mph, a Category 4 has wind of 131 to 155 mph, and a Category 5 is anything above that.
At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Wilma was still in the western Caribbean, about 520 miles south of Key West and wobbling toward the west-northwest at 7 mph. However, the storm should eventually make a sharp right turn toward Florida and pick up forward speed in the Gulf of Mexico because it will get caught in the westerlies, the strong wind current that generally blows toward the east, forecasters said.
The White House promised to remain on top of the situation. "We are closely monitoring what is an extremely dangerous storm," said Scott McClellan, spokesman for