document: As Hurricane Gilbert 's record-breaking fury sends Caribbean islanders scrambling for cover , National Hurricane Center Director Bob Sheets remained calm at his helm . The barometric pressure at the storm 's center plummeted to 26.13 inches at 5:58 p.m. EDT Tuesday night , making Gilbert the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure , but Sheets handled a mob of reporters with ease . `` I 've flown into 200 hurricanes . ... I really do n't think this is difficult , '' he said . With his schedule of interviews timed to the minute , Sheets spent most of Tuesday on the sixth floor of hurricane headquarters beside a large monitor showing the destructive Gilbert in full color sprawled across much of the western Caribbean . Rosy-cheeked and good-natured , Sheets was named acting director during the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season and became director in March . The transition from former director Neil Frank , widely known for his distinctive style and flat-top haircut , to Sheets , his dark blond hair carefully coiffed and wearing a bright pink shirt with a gray wool-blend jacket , has been smooth . `` He knows his job very well and he 's a calm personality , '' Vivian Jorge , the center 's budget analyst , said of Sheets . On days with especially active tropical weather , Ms. Jorge steps in to coordinate media interviews . Interest in Gilbert has been high since it started packing hurricane-force winds last weekend and by Tuesday night became a Category 5 storm with winds of 175 mph . A Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of strength has the potential for causing catastrophic damage with winds in excess of 155 mph and pressure below 27.17 inches . Gilbert has been compared to the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 , which slammed into the Florida Keys and killed 408 people , and Hurricane Camille , which devastated the Mississippi coast in 1969 , killing 256 _ the only other Category 5 storms to hit land this century . The last major hurricane to make landfall was Elena in 1985 , along the Mississippi , Alabama and Florida Panhandle . The major television networks , local stations and print media were on hand to monitor the hurricane . The center 's 33-member crew , including seven hurricane forecasters and specialists , are keeping a close watch on the hurricane in a large , open roomful of blue monitors flickering with graphics . And while Sheets might appear to spend most of his day with tiny microphones snaking down his back and fielding media questions , he also writes most of the hurricane advisories issued every three hours and makes hurricane forecasts . Dealing with a major hurricane is n't much different from dealing with smaller ones or tropical storms , Sheets said , adding that Gilbert has been particularly `` well-behaved . '' `` It does what we think it 's going to do , '' he said . `` You feel a lot more confident about what you 're doing than with weaker systems . '' His previous experience with hurricanes has served him well in keeping off the pressure during these sometimes 18-hour days . `` I 've done this for 25 years so at one stage you 're prepared to do it or not . ... I do n't feel a lot of pressure , '' said Sheets , while eating lunch . Sheets said he remains in touch with his predecessor , Frank , but did n't get any special advice from his friend on dealing with his high-visibility post at the hurricane center here . What 's Frank , now a television forecaster for Texas station KHOU-TV , doing now ? `` He 's getting geared up in Houston , '' said Sheets with a smile .
extractive_keyphrases: hurricane gilbert national hurricane center barometric pressure intense hurricane western hemisphere destructive gilbert category 5 hurricane catastrophic damage
abstractive_keyphrases: hurricane-force winds