Hurricane Iota made landfall in Nicaragua late Monday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, per the National Hurricane Center.
Why it matters: The storm is the most powerful of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, with "life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, flash flooding, and landslides expected across portions of Central America," the NHC said.
#HuracánIota | Así luce Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas, a pocas horas de que #Iota impacte. Más detalles: https://t.co/9iDxeflkW0 pic.twitter.com/m9DiWt1nzU
— LA PRENSA Nicaragua (@laprensa) November 16, 2020
- Iota made landfall near the town of Haulover, some 15 miles south of where the distractive Hurricane Eta also struck as a Category 4 hurricane on Nov. 3.
The big picture: Iota is the 13th hurricane of the 2020 hurricane season and was earlier Monday the first Category 5 storm of this year's record-setting Atlantic hurricane season before weakening slightly.
- More Atlantic storms could see similar rapid expansion as seas warm because of climate change, the Washington Post notes. Typical seasons produce five or six named hurricanes.
A closeup look at the eye of Hurricane Iota and the lightning within the eyewall detected by the #GOES16 Geostationary Lightning Mapper. https://t.co/6yYTZjRSae
— NWS Eastern Region (@NWSEastern) November 17, 2020
Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of developments in Nicaragua.
