Wilma breaks Atlantic storm records

HURRICANE Wilma turned into the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded yesterday, a Category 5 monster packing 175mph wind that forecasters warned was “extremely dangerous”.

Wilma was dumping rain on Central America and Mexico. A hurricane watch was in effect for the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, parts of Cuba and the Cayman Islands, and forecasters warned of a “significant threat” to Florida by the weekend.

Wilma’s top sustained winds reached 175mph early yesterday in the most rapid strengthening ever recorded in a hurricane, said meteorologist Hugh Cobb of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.