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Well it is quite obvious that Wilma is undergoing rapid intensification this evening. I see no reason why this should abate anytime soon, and, unfortunately, we're likely to see another jaw-dropping category 5 hurricane out of 24L. I think that it should peak out at around 140kt in a couple days before weakening back down to a category 4 over the Yucatan Channel. Earlier today I had considered shifting my forecast track slightly to the right, but, given that I'm expecting a stronger Wilma, it will take more energy (and therefore time) to make it turn toward the northeast. For this reason, I've actually shifted my track slightly to the left (mainly while the center is still over the Caribbean). As we're already beginning (and should continue to) see, Wilma is expanding in size and, as I have been saying all along, *could* rival Katrina as far as overall area of hurricane-force winds go.
As the hurricane begins to accelerate, and as it approaches the Gulf coast of FL, winds on the right side of the storm will be markedly stronger than those on the left, though still quite intense. Intensity at landfall should be somewhere on the order of 100-110kt, with the strongest of these winds occurring south and east of wherever the eye comes ashore. The center of circulation should make the trip across the Florida Peninsula in less than six hours, and the hurricane will therefore experience relatively minimal frictional weakening due to land interaction. The bottom line is that the SW FL peninsula is looking like the 'target zone,' though with such a great deal of time on our hands before any potential landfall, things could easily change.
There is only a minimal leftward shift in my forecast track from Wilma-Cast #1.
EDIT: DUE TO CURRENT TRENDS (SINCE I DREW OUT THE FORECAST MAP), INTENSIFICATION TO CATEGORY 4 AND 5 STATUS WILL OCCUR FAR SOONER THAN INDICATED.