Hurricane Iota Strengthens To Category 5 'Catastrophic Force' - US Weather Agency

Hurricane Iota has grown to Category 5 and is predicted to hit Nicaragua and Honduras in Central America on Monday afternoon, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a warning on Monday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th November, 2020) Hurricane Iota has grown to Category 5 and is predicted to hit Nicaragua and Honduras in Central America on Monday afternoon, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a warning on Monday.

Iota will make landfall on Nicaragua and Honduras with "catastrophic wind, life-threatening storm surge and torrential rainfall," the NHC warned.

The hurricane may hit areas already suffering from the impact of Hurricane Eta at the beginning of this month, the center warned.

US aircraft flew into the hurricane and measured its top wind speeds at 160 miles per hour (260 kilometers per hour). It was heading west towards landfall in Nicaragua later in the day at a speed of nine miles per hour (15 kilometers per hour), the NHC said.