3 yıl önce

Iota strengthens into 13th hurricane of 2020

Iota is about 475 km east of Isla De Providencia Colombia and expected to become a major hurricane as it approaches Central America.

AFP

View of destruction at a banana field as workers prepare to evacuate it in El Progreso, Yoro department, Honduras, on November 14, 2020, before the arrival of tropical storm Iota.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that storm Iota has strengthened into the 13th hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season and is expected to further intensify as it approaches Central America.

"Reconnaissance aircraft finds Iota has strengthened into the thirteenth hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season," NHC said.

Iota is about 475 kilometres east of Isla De Providencia Colombia with maximum sustained winds 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph).

NUMBER THIRTEEN. Incredible. 75 MPH Cat 1, 989 mb. pic.twitter.com/DzubqF3d4t
— Sammy Maggio | #Iota ι | #BillsMafia #BUFvsARI (@SammyMaggio) November 15, 2020

Weeks ago, rain-heavy Tropical Storm Eta grew rapidly to near hurricane strength while heading for a drenching collision with Central America, as this Atlantic hurricane system tied the record for the most named storms.

Eta had maximum sustained winds of 101 kph (70 mph), the NHC said. It was centred about 345 kilometres (215 miles) east of the Nicaragua-Honduras border and was heading westward at 20 kph (13 mph).

Forecasters expected Eta to become a hurricane and it was predicted to be nearing the Nicaraguan coast.