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| #53446 (Received by flhurricane at: 10:46 PM 23.Oct.2005) TCPAT4 BULLETIN HURRICANE WILMA ADVISORY NUMBER 35 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 11 PM EDT SUN OCT 23 2005 ...WILMA STRENGTHENS INTO A MAJOR CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE... ...TROPICAL STORM-FORCE WINDS LASHING THE LOWER FLORIDA KEYS AND WESTERN CUBA... 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. AT 11 PM EDT...0300Z... THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING ALONG THE FLORIDA EAST COAST HAS BEEN EXTENDED NORTHWARD TO ST. AUGUSTINE. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST NORTH OF LONGBOAT KEY TO STEINHATCHEE RIVER...AND ALONG THE FLORIDA EAST COAST NORTH OF TITUSVILLE TO ST. AUGUSTINE. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT ALONG THE NORTHEAST COAST OF FLORIDA FROM NORTH OF ST. AUGUSTINE TO FERNANDINA BEACH. 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. THESE WARNINGS AND WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE DISCONTINUED MONDAY MORNING. 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 11 PM EDT...0300Z...DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT... NOAA DOPPLER RADARS... AND SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATE THE CENTER OF THE LARGE EYE OF MAJOR HURRICANE WILMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.4 NORTH... LONGITUDE 83.7 WEST OR ABOUT 120 MILES... 195 KM... WEST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA AND ABOUT 170 MILES... 275 KM...SOUTHWEST OF NAPLES FLORIDA. WILMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 18 MPH...30 KM/HR. A CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD MOTION... WITH A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED... IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AND MONDAY. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF WILMA IS FORECAST TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA EARLY MONDAY MORNING. HOWEVER... WILMA IS A LARGE HURRICANE AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL REACH THE FLORIDA PENINSULA WELL BEFORE THE EYE MAKES LANDFALL. THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE EYEWALL... ACCOMPANIED BY THE STRONGEST WINDS... WILL REACH THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF FLORIDA ABOUT 2 HOURS BEFORE THE CENTER OF THE LARGE EYE MAKES LANDFALL. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 115 MPH...185 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. WILMA IS A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS EXPECTED UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS ...AND WILMA WILL LIKELY MAKE LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE. SOME SLOW WEAKENING IS FORECAST AS WILMA CROSSES THE SOUTHERN FLORIDA PENINSULA... BUT THE HURRICANE IS FORECAST TO STILL BE A SIGNIFICANT CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BY THE TIME THE CENTER REACHES THE FLORIDA EAST COAST EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 230 MILES...370 KM. SUSTAINED TROPICAL STORM-FORCE WINDS ARE OCCURRING OVER THE YUCATAN CHANNEL... WESTERN CUBA... AND THE LOWER AND MIDDLE FLORIDA KEYS. THESE WINDS SHOULD REACH THE SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA COAST BY MIDNIGHT... WITH HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS REACHING THE LOWER KEYS AND SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA COAST BEFORE SUNRISE. THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT WAS 958 MB...28.29 INCHES. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 9 TO 17 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. WILMA MAY PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES THROUGH MONDAY ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN CUBA. RAINFALL ACROSS SOUTHERN FLORIDA AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA... INCLUDING THE FLORIDA KEYS... THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON IS EXPECTED TO BE 4 TO 8 INCHES... WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 12 INCHES POSSIBLE. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS. LARGE SWELLS GENERATED BY WILMA WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEASTERN GULF COAST FROM THE FLORIDA KEYS NORTHWARD TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY. THE TORNADO THREAT ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA PENINSULA ... AND THE FLORIDA KEYS... HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. SCATTERED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. REPEATING THE 11 PM EDT POSITION...24.4 N... 83.7 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHEAST NEAR 18 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...115 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 958 MB. INTERMEDIATE ADVISORIES WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 1 AM EDT AND 3 AM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 5 AM EDT. FORECASTER STEWART |
