ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Iota made landfall late Monday night as a Category 4 hurricane in Nicaragua near the town of Haulover.
11:40 a.m. update
Hurricane Iota continues to barrel through Central America
Hurricane Iota is continuing to barrel through Central America. The storm is a Category 1 hurricane.
Meteorologist Rusty McCranie said Iota will weaken quickly but it will continue to bring life-threatening conditions.
Iota is still a hurricane as it barrels through Central America. It will weaken quickly but it will continue to bring life threatening conditions as it does. pic.twitter.com/R9UWk4yZTY
Forecasters said Iota will become a tropical storm by Tuesday afternoon and a tropical depression by tonight.
Iota should degenerate into a remnant low near El Salvador by Wednesday due to the rugged terrain of central America.
While Iota’s winds are weakening, there are still life-threatening hazard for Central America, including flash flooding and mud slides, which could result in potentially catastrophic effects, especially when compounded upon Hurricane Eta’s destruction from a couple of weeks ago.
5 a.m. update
Hurricane Iota makes landfall 12 miles south of where Hurricane Eta made landfall two weeks ago
The storm made landfall about 12 miles south of where Hurricane Eta made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane earlier this month.
Iota is rapidly weakening but it is bringing life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, flash flooding and landslides to portions of Central America.
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Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm A dog eats from the rubble of houses destroyed by the passage of Hurricane Eta, in Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on November 15, 2020, before the arrival of Hurricane Iota. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm A man walks along a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Eta in La Lima, Cortes, Honduras, on November 16, 2020 as Hurricane Iota moves over the Caribbean towards the Nicaragua-Honduras border. (WENDELL ESCOTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm A house is flooded next to palm trees blow by wind as Nicaragua prepares to receive hurricane Iota on November 16, 2020, in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. (Maynor Valenzuela/Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm Locals move on street barely cleared from the debris of the last storm, before Hurricane Iota makes landfall in La Lima, Honduras, Monday, November 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm View of a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Eta in La Lima, Cortes, Honduras, on November 16, 2020, as Hurricane Iota moves over the Caribbean towards the Nicaragua-Honduras border. (WENDELL ESCOTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm A man rides his bicycle in Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on November 16, 2020, as Hurricane Iota moves over the Caribbean towards the Nicaragua-Honduras border. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm A man walks along a damaged street after the passage of Hurricane Eta in La Lima, Cortes, Honduras, on November 16, 2020, as Hurricane Iota moves over the Caribbean towards the Nicaragua-Honduras border. (WENDELL ESCOTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm Palm trees blow by wind as Nicaragua prepares to receive hurricane Iota on November 16, 2020, in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. (Maynor Valenzuela/Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm Neighbors help each other as they evacuate the area before Hurricane Iota makes landfall in San Manuel Cortes, Honduras, Monday, November 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)
Photos: Hurricane Iota slams Central America after making landfall as Category 4 storm Wendy Guadalupe Contreras who was left homeless after the last storm hit the area, comforts her son as she speaks on the phone before Hurricane Iota makes landfall in La Lima, Honduras, Monday, November 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)
On the forecast track, Iota will move across northern Nicaragua, and move across southern Honduras tonight and Wednesday.
Iota is a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
The National Hurricane Center said Iota is still a significant hurricane. Damaging winds and a life-threatening storm surge are expected along portions of the coast of northeastern Nicaragua during the next several hours, where a hurricane warning is in effect.
