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At 10 a.m. UK time today, Monday 24 October, Hurricane Wilma was some 55 miles south-west of Naples, Florida and heading towards landfall at 20 m.p.h. On its current track Wilma will make landfall along the south-western Florida coast in a few hours time and cross the southern Florida peninsula later today. However, Wilma is a large hurricane and hurricane force winds extend outwards up to 90 miles from the centre and hurricane force gusts have already been experienced across the Florida Keys.
Maximum sustained winds are now close to 125 m.p.h., with higher gusts and Wilma is a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Little change in strength is expected before landfall but some weakening is likely as Wilma crosses the southern Florida peninsula today. A hurricane warning is in effect for all of the Florida Keys, along the Florida west coast from Longboat Key southward, and along the Florida east coast from Titusville southward, including Lake Okeechobee. Cuba also has hurricane warnings in force. A predicted storm surge of 12 to 18 ft above normal tide levels is possible along coasts close to where Wilma makes landfall. Up to 10 inches (250 mm) of rainfall could fall across central and southern Florida, including the Florida Keys. The Met Office provides updated information on the hurricane to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which is used to advise tourists and people who have friends and family in the area via the FCO web site. For the latest satellite imagery from the area and information
on the movement of the storm check the Met Office tropical
cyclone information page, which includes a link to the National
Hurricane Center and major national weather services around
the world. Latest tropical cyclone advisories Travel advice from Foreign and Commonwealth Office Media toolkit about hurricanes
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