"Wiiilllllmmmmmmaaaaaa!!!"

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) -- Hurricane Wilma rapidly strengthened into one of the Americas' most intense storms ever and lashed Caribbean coastlines Wednesday, forcing tourists to flee as it threatened to slam into Cancun, Mexico, and southern Florida.

The monstrous Category 5 storm forced thousands of people to evacuate low-lying areas in a 600-mile swath covering Cuba, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Cayman Islands, officials said.

At least 13 deaths have been blamed on Wilma this week, including a man who drowned Wednesday while trying to cross a river that overflowed its banks in southern Haiti.

Forecasters said Wilma has the potential to make an extremely damaging impact in a season that has already seen devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. With its center still over open water, the storm's sustained winds were near 160 mph Wednesday night, yet down from 175 mph earlier in the day.

The National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said Wilma could reach the Florida Keys Saturday, possibly toward the evening. Visitors were ordered out of the Florida Keys even as schools closed.

...Predictions differed on the hurricane's path and how strong it would be when it reaches U.S. shores. Though some weakening was expected by Thursday, the "potential for large loss of life is with us," said Max Mayfield, director of the U.S. hurricane center.

"This is one of those cases where we have a tremendous amount of uncertainty," said Mayfield. Referring to Wilma's explosive two-day growth from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, Mayfield said "this is one of the most perplexing storms we have had to deal with" this year.

At 8 p.m. EDT, Wilma was centered about 270 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and 450 miles south-southwest of Key West. It was moving west-northwest near 7 mph, with some wobbles, forecasters said. The storm is expected to veer more to the northwest over the next 24 hours.

Wilma's record-level intensity was measured in its pressure. Confirmed pressure readings early Wednesday dropped to 882 millibars, the lowest minimum pressure ever measured in a hurricane in the Americas, but it later lost power and rose to 892 millibars, according to the hurricane center. Lower pressure translates into higher wind speed.

Max Mayfield, director of the U.S. hurricane center, calls Wilma "perplexing".

I hope and pray that record-breaking Wilma perplexingly fizzles out and spares the already battered Gulf Coast.

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