MIAMI, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Hurricane Wilma made landfall at midday Friday at the Mexican resort city of Cozumel with top sustained winds of 145 mph.
At 8 p.m. EDT, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Wilma's top sustained winds were only slightly less intense at 140 mph. The storm was still moving northwest, but had slowed to 3 mph.
NHC Director Max Mayfield called Wilma "a very solid category 4" hurricane, and said it would linger over Cozumel for about 24 hours
"But it will weaken and by (midday) tomorrow we'll have a much weaker hurricane than we have today," said Mayfield.
Wilma made landfall at about the same place where Hurricane Emily made landfall earlier this year. Wilma was expected to produce 10 to 20 inches of rain through Sunday across portions of the Yucatan and western Cuba, where as much as 40 inches is possible in higher terrain.
Mayfield said the center of the storm would approach the southwest coast of Florida by Monday afternoon, moving towards the northeast. He said Wilma would likely be a category 1 or category 2 hurricane when it reaches Florida.
Based on the slow movement, officials in the Florida Keys deferred calling for voluntary evacuation until Saturday.
Wilma has claimed at least 12 lives in Haiti and one in Jamaica.
