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AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager Jesse Ferrell covers extreme weather and the intersection of meteorology and social media.
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Weather Blogs / WeatherMatrix
Cat 5 Hurricane Iota, a nightmare after Eta
Just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, Category 5 Hurricane Iota is about to make landfall just miles away.
Updated Nov 17, 2020 2:34 AM EST
Just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, Category 5 Hurricane Iota is about to make landfall just miles away.
This will likely deliver a catastrophic blow to Central America with extreme flooding they haven't seen in 1,000 years, and a death toll that could approach that of Hurricane Mitch.
Hurricane Iota Forecast + Eta Landfall
Not only will the worst part of the hurricane's eyewall winds tear through the same town as Hurricane Eta did, Puerto Cabezas, but heavy rain will also cause mudslides and extreme river flooding across several countries, just like Eta.
NOTE: The video below shows "flooding from Hurricane Iota" in Colombia, on the edge of the storm over the weekend.
How much rain fell in Central America during Eta?
NASA Rainfall Estimate for Eta
We may never know. Meteorological instrumentation is sparse in Nicaragua. A NASA satellite estimate for the seven days including Hurricane Eta showed amounts that were "off the charts" -- likely more than 24 inches, at least offshore, and more than 20 near landfall in Nicaragua, and over 14 inches over a wide area of that country, Belize, and Honduras.
NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory satellite flew over Hurricane Eta on Nov. 4, capturing the storm's rainfall totals over Central America.
Amounts from official rainfall gauges include:
Tela, Honduras: 28.00"*
La Ceiba, Honduras: 20.00"*
Puerto Barrios, Guatemala: 16.10"
Coban, Guatemala: 13.40"
La Mesa, Honduras: 12.94"
Trujillo, Honduras: 12.80"
*Best estimate by AccuWeather Meteorologists based on some missing gauge data.
Whatever the amounts, it was enough to cause major flooding and kill 145 people. And now, if the rain hits the same places, it will bring devastation all over again. For areas that escaped Eta's rain, it could bring devastation for the first time.
Iota Risk
With improved infrastructure and technology, hopefully Iota's death toll won't approach the 10,000 - 20,000 deaths from Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which researchers have attributed to heavy, but not catastrophic rainfall mixed with poor agricultural management.
Iota Winds 6 PM 11/16/2020 via Windy.com