I don’t have the gear to test wind speed, but wunderground predicts wind speeds for this area up to 40 mph. It doesn’t say anything about gusts. The Weather Channel says expect gusts up to 60 mph.

Wilma’s also bringing plenty of rain. I couldn’t find predictions online, but again the Weather Channel tells me four inches over the next 24 hours. Somehow, that seems conservative. A rain band’s passing over right now and I’d bet we’ve gotten an inch or so already.

The storm has a 45-mile eye and forecasters expect it to hit around 140 miles south of St. Petersburg (as the crow and hurricane fly).

The Weather Channel said at 10:43 p.m. that it had become a Category 3. In the 11 p.m. update, NOAA confirms that.

The Web connection, cable and power seem fine, but I’ll unplug everything before I go to sleep. In the meantime, I’m raising a beer to hunkering down.