After Eta, Central America bracing for Iota
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Just as the remnants of Eta finally blew out to sea on Friday, another storm formed that could follow its path of death and destruction into Central America this weekend.
Hurricane experts were closely watching the Caribbean, where Tropical Storm Iota formed Friday afternoon. Forecasters warned that Iota could power up quickly, to major hurricane strength, as it approaches Central America late Sunday or Monday, and wreak more havoc in a region where people are still grappling with the aftermath of Eta.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Iota could bring dangerous wind, storm surge and asmuch as 30 inches of rainfall to northern Nicaragua and Honduras. The storm was located about 335 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
Iota could become a Category 3 storm with winds of at least 111 mph as it approaches Central America, said Jim Rouiller, lead meteorologist at the Energy Weather Group.
“The results would be catastrophic,” Rouiller said. “They are still recovering (from Eta), and it is going to produce another serious threat — the flooding is going to be tremendous. This is definitely the worst case.”
Iota is a record-setting 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Such activity has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing wetter, stronger and more destructive storms. Theta, the 29th storm, was centered Friday south-southeast of the Azores, and moving east with top sustained winds of 60 mph.
Forecasters said Eta’s remnants would pick up forward speed in the next day or so as it pulls away from the Southeast seaboard. Eta also triggered flash flooding, water rescues and at least one bridge collapse in South Carolina, said Sandy LaCorte, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greenville, S.C.
Eta hit Nicaragua lastweek as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people as torrential rains brought flash floods and landslides to parts of Central America and Mexico. Then it meandered across Cuba, the Florida Keys and around the Gulf of Mexico before slogging ashore again near Cedar Key, Fla., and dashing across Florida and the Carolinas. It was blamed for one U.S. death: aman electrocuted in his flooded garage as hewas laying sandbags around his home.