Hurricane Iota continues to barrel through Central America

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.

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)

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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.

READ: Hurricane Season 2020: How are they named? Who names them? Why? When? Why they retire names?

Forecasters said Iota should continue to rapidly weaken and dissipate over Central America by Wednesday night.

Cox Media Group