Hurricane Builds to a Category 5
From Associated Press
12:19 AM PDT, October 19, 2005

Hurricane Wilma strengthened into a Category 5 monster early today with 175-mph winds, and forecasters said a key reading of the storm's pressure showed it to be the most powerful of the year.

Wilma was on course to sideswipe Central America and Mexico, and forecasters warned of a "significant threat" to Florida by the weekend.

The storm's power multiplied greatly over the last day. It was only Tuesday morning that Wilma grew from a tropical storm into a weak hurricane with 80 mph winds.

Forecasters warned that Wilma was likely to rake Honduras and the Cayman Islands before turning toward the narrow Yucatan Channel between Cuba and Mexico's Cancun region -- then move into the storm-weary Gulf.