Looking at Tropical Storm Richard's forecast track and the historical path ofHurricane Wilma from 2005, there are eerie similarities.Tropical Storm Richard formed on Thursday in the northwestern Caribbean not farfrom where Hurricane Wilma became the most intense Atlantic hurricane onrecord, which also occurred during the second half of October.
That is not to say that Richard will challenge Wilma's pressure record, butRichard is expected to strengthen into a hurricane prior to slamming intonorthern Belize or Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula later this weekend.
If Richard travels more to the north than the west over the next few days, itstarget will be the northeastern corner of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. That isexactly where Hurricane Wilma tore across on Oct. 22, 2005.
Richard should eventually enter the Gulf of Mexico next week. Similar to whathappened with Hurricane Wilma, strong winds above the surface may then steerRichard toward Florida.
It should be stressed that Tropical Storm Richard is not expected to be anexact carbon copy of Hurricane Wilma, but Richard could still pose a seriousdanger to lives and property wherever it comes onshore in the upcoming days.
All residents and visitors from Honduras to the Yucatan Peninsula to Floridashould closely monitor Tropical Storm Richard as the AccuWeather.com HurricaneCenter fine-tunes its exact track.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski
