Hurricane Iota

[Taylor Campbell]

TD 31 in the central Carribean is not officially named Iota yet, but it seems extremely likely that it will be soon. It also seems likely that it will become a major hurricane.

 

[KoD]

Officially tropical storm Iota now. GFS, ECMWF and HWRF all have it intensifying into a moderate possibly major hurricane over the coming days.

 

[warneagle]

Iota is now a hurricane, the 13th of 2020. The second-most hurricanes of any season on record (15 in 2005).

 

[Taylor Campbell]

Also looks to be the second major to make landfall into northern Nicaragua in just two weeks.

 

[warneagle]

Yeah, this is going to be a major humanitarian disaster. In the middle of a pandemic, no less. I hope we're still in a position to provide them with aid, because they're going to need it.

 

[TornadoFan]

Latest extrapolated pressure is now 943mb.

 

[warneagle]

Almost certainly a major hurricane now. Which brings up this incredible statistic:

 

[TornadoFan]

Hail reported in the SW eyewall.

 

[warneagle]

NHC is going with 945 mb and 125 mph for now.

 

[TornadoFan]

 

[akt1985]

Officially at Cat 4 now.

 

[gangstonc]

Lots of lightning near the core.

 

[warneagle]

925 mb and 155 mph. It's going to at least make a run at Cat 5.

-61 mb in 24 hours is even more than Eta dropped. Only Gilbert, Rita, and Wilma have done that.

 

[warneagle]

And we might not be done here.

 

[TornadoFan]

Iota is now a category 5 with max winds of 160 mph and pressure of 917mb.

 

[TornadoFan]

Absolute monster.

 

[CheeselandSkies]

September: It's peak season and they said this year was gonna be super favorable. Where are all the high-end hurricanes?

November: I got you.

Seriously though, the trend for the same places to get hit repeatedly this season (First SW Louisiana, now northwestern Nicaragua) is disturbing to say the least.

 

[warneagle]

And there might be another one coming.

 

[Evan]

Just devastating for Nicaragua and Central America. It's a region that simply cannot take these kinds of hits without having a humanitarian disaster.

I have a friend who lives on San Andrés. The island took a pretty good hit. She said it was "horrible" and that she and her family didn't sleep at all before and during Iota passing nearby. The island has pretty extensive damage and it's so far away from the Colombian mainland that getting supplies and resources into San Andrés is a major challenge. Not to mention, the Colombian government doesn't exactly excel at handling natural disasters.

 

[bjdeming]

Mesmerizing, but horrifying.