Hurricane Iota was slamming Nicaragua as a Category 5 storm Monday night, per the National Hurricane Center.
Why it matters: The first Category 5 hurricane of this year's record-setting Atlantic hurricane season was bringing "catastrophic winds life-threatening storm surge, and torrential rainfall" over Central America, as the Western Eyewall of the storm moved over Nicaragua, the NHC said.
- It comes less than a week after the Category 4 Hurricane Eta damaged the area and forced over 30,000 people to evacuate. Much of Central America is still reeling from the damage caused by Eta.
- Hurricane warnings were in effect for Nicaragua's coast, from the border with Honduras to Sandy Bay Sirpi and for the coast of northeastern Honduras, from Punta Patuca to the border with Nicaragua.
The big picture: Iota is the 13th hurricane of the 2020 hurricane season. 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
