The twelfth hurricane in the Atlantic – Hurricane Eta threatens Central America – Meteo

Eta did not form until October 31, subsequently it has strengthened extremely rapidly and is now underway as a Category 4 (out of 5) hurricane. It could intensify to a level 5 hurricane in the next few hours. On Wednesday night it reached the coast of Nicaragua and then moved to Honduras and Guatemala, weakening significantly.

If Eta were to escalate into a Category 5 hurricane in the next few hours, which is possible, it would only be the second hurricane in this category in November.

According to hurricane experts at the National Hurricane Center, the following should be expected:

• Catastrophic Wind Damage on the Northeast Coast of Nicaragua
• Catastrophic and life-threatening storm surge and destructive waves off the coast of Nicaragua near Hurricane Eye
• Through Friday night, heavy rains with flooding and landslides in parts of Central America

Expected amounts of rain:

• Nicaragua and Honduras: 380 to 650 mm, locally up to 900 mm

• Eastern Guatemala and Belize: 250 to 500 mm, locally up to 650 mm

• Parts of Panama and Costa Rica: 250 to 380 mm, locally up to 650 mm

It is already the 28th named storm

Hurricane Eta is the 28th named tropical cyclone and the 12th hurricane in the Atlantic. In 2005 alone there were 28 named storms, but at that time the 28th storm did not form until late December. Only in 2005 more hurricanes formed than in 2020, that is, the fifteenth.