Wilma Ties Storm Record

Tropical Storm Wilma formed Monday in the western Caribbean, tying the record for the most storms in an Atlantic season and following a path that could potentially menace the Gulf Coast later this week as a hurricane.

Wilma is the 21st named storm of the season. The only other time that many storms formed since record keeping began 154 years ago was in 1933.

At 5 a.m. EDT, Wilma had top sustained winds near 40 mph, just above the 39-mph threshold for tropical storms. It was centered about 175 miles southeast of Grand Cayman and drifting southwest near 3 mph.

A hurricane watch was issued for the Cayman Islands, meaning hurricane conditions could be felt there within 36 hours. The depression is expected to bring 4 to 6 inches of rain in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, with as much as 12 inches possible in some areas, forecasters said.

Long-term forecasts show the storm heading into the Gulf of Mexico by Thursday or Friday. Forecasters said high water temperatures and other conditions were favorable for it to become a significant hurricane.

The only other time that many storms have formed since record keeping began 154 years ago was in 1933, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president and the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression.

Many residents in the Cayman Islands still had storm shutters up from last year's Hurricane Ivan, which destroyed 70 percent of buildings on Grand Cayman, the largest island in the three-island British territory of 45,000 people.

Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.