Wilma Whipping Cancun Coastline

Tourists Try To Flee 'Extremely Dangerous' Category 4 Storm

(CBS/AP)  Hurricane Wilma's outer bands began battering Cancun's white-sand beaches and turquoise seas Thursday as city officials ordered hotels to evacuate and tourists jockeyed for spots on the last flights out.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said by early Friday, the storm's wobbly center was roughly 90 miles southeast of Cozumel. But hurricane-force wind extended 85 miles out from the center, and tropical storm-force wind reached 200 miles out. It was heading northwest toward the Yucatan at near 6 mph.

Wilma, which left 13 dead in the Caribbean, was expected to nick the northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula before dawn Friday, then make a beeline for southern Florida, where thousands were being evacuated.

It was downgraded to a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds after briefly becoming the most intense storm on record in the Americas on Wednesday.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was "extremely dangerous." It would be the second hurricane to hit Cancun and its neighboring resorts this year, following Hurricane Emily in July.

CBS News hurricane expert Bryan Norcross says that Wilma is "driving forecasters crazy" because of inconsistent computer models. It is still unknown where Wilma will strike Florida, but when it does, it may be "significantly weaker" (video) — perhaps a Category 2 storm, Norcross says.

With rains and rough surf already pounding Cancun, city officials ordered some 20,000 tourists to leave the row of high-rise hotels that line Cancun's famous beachfront, although some ballrooms would be turned into shelters, Cancun Mayor Francisco Antonio Alor said.

He said the city was chartering flights to try to evacuate tourists before the airport closed, probably later Thursday afternoon.

All but emergency officials had been evacuated from the nearby islands of Isla Mujeres and Holbox.

In Florida, officials in the Keys put off the mandatory evacuation of residents until Friday. Tourists had been told to leave Wednesday, and the streets were almost empty early Thursday.

The massive storm whipped through the Caribbean, forcing thousands to leave low-lying areas in a 600-mile swath covering Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Cayman Islands.

Honduras, which took a lashing from the storm on Wednesday, escaped major damage. Power was cut to about 20 towns, two Caribbean ports were closed, and four fishermen were reported missing at sea. On Honduras' popular Bay islands, about 500 U.S. and European tourists were moved to safe locations at hotels.