UPDATE: Flooding on the south-bound side of the Uriah Butler Highway has slowed the flow of vehicular traffic significantly. Earlier the south-bound side had been closed and the north-bound side made two-way.

Last time this happened drivers heading south during peak traffic hours 4-6 pm found themselves stuck for hours in a virtual carpark. Some said they left Port of Spain around 5 pm and did not get to their Southern destination until 9-10 pm.

Please be guided accordingly.

Many parts of central Trinidad are this morning under water.

Councillor for Caparo Paras Ramoutar tells us the Brasso Caparo Valley Road is impassable at this time.

Member of Parliament for Nariva Harry Partap also says many areas in his constituency are under water.

Meanwhile the Airport’s Authority is advising members of the public who are going to the airport this morning to avoid using the St. Helena turnoff, as parts of the roadway are flooded.

After days of drifting in the Caribbean Sea, Wilma became a record-tying hurricane Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of 11 a.m. ET, Wilma had top sustained winds of 75 mph (121 kilometers per hour) and was the 12th Atlantic hurricane of the season, tying the record set in 1969.

The storm is expected to strengthen further today, and Wilma should become a Category 3 storm in "the next day or two," according to a hurricane center advisory.

The center of Wilma was about 195 miles (320 kilometers) south-southeast of Grand Cayman island about 200 miles (325 kilometers) east-northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras border.

Wilma, which had been nearly stationary most of the morning, was moving toward the northwest at 7 mph (11 kph), the hurricane center said.

The center's five-day projection for Wilma's path indicates the storm may skirt the western tip of Cuba then turn to the northeast and the South Florida Gulf Coast.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose state was hit by hurricanes Dennis in July and Katrina in August, said Monday that Floridians have stepped up their preparations for another storm.

"This storm is a volatile storm," Bush said. "We don't really know where it's going to go, and so the entire peninsula needs to keep and eye to the south and east of us. We'll probably have a better idea by the middle of the week."

So far this season there have been 21 named storms, tying a record set in 1933. If there is another tropical storm, it would be named Alpha, for the first letter in the Greek alphabet. Hurricane season ends November 30.

(Source: CNN)

Hurricane Rita picked up strength Wednesday as it churned toward the Texas Gulf Coast and was upgraded to a Category 4 storm with winds topping 135 mph.

At 8 a.m. ET, Rita centered was about 195 miles west of Key West, Florida, and 790 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

The latest extended forecast from the hurricane center has Rita gathering strength before the eye makes landfall near Galveston, Texas, late Friday or early Saturday. That would place Rita about midway between New Orleans and Brownsville, Texas. (Watch Galveston residents prepare for Rita -- 1:22)