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.
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.