Six weeks remain in hurricane season, and Nature isn’t wasting any time. According to a public advisory from the National Weather Service (NWS) Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., Hurricane Wilma is moving toward the Yucatan as a “potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane.” Yesterday (Oct 18), Wilma strengthened to hurricane level while crossing the northwestern Caribbean Sea, which means the 2005 hurricane season now shares the record for the most hurricanes in one season with 1969.

The advisory released this afternoon reported that Wilma had weakened slightly and that the tropical storm warning and hurricane watch for the Cayman Islands had been discontinued. Multiple hurricane warnings, hurricane watches, and tropical storm warnings were in effect for areas of the Yucatan Peninsula.

“On Monday (Oct. 17), Wilma became the season’s 21st named storm, tying the seasonal record first set in 1933,” a release on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) web site explained. “Hurricane records date back to 1851. Wilma also is the final name on the 2005 list of storm names. Any additional tropical storms and hurricanes that form this season will be classified by the NOAA National Hurricane Center using the Greek alphabet, beginning with Alpha. Doing so would be a first since the naming of storms began in 1953.”

As of 5:05pm EDT on Oct. 19, there were no hurricane or tropical storm watches or warnings in effect for any portion of the Florida Keys, because these watches are issued when “tropical storm or hurricane force winds are expected to begin generally within 36 hours,” said the NWS Hurricane Wilma local statement for Key West, Fla