Hurricane Iota has rapidly strengthened to a Category 5 storm, bringing with it “catastrophic” winds and life-threatening storm surge that is expected to barrel into Central America by Monday night. An advisory from the National Hurricane Center says the hurricane has maximum sustained winds of about 160 mph and is forecast to bring storm surges of as high as 20 feet, along with rainfall of at least 10 inches. The hurricane is expected to make landfall off the Nicaraguan coast on Monday night—in the same location that was hit by Category 4 Hurricane Eta just two weeks ago. “Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the advisory said. It is also the strongest storm on record this late in the hurricane season, and the strongest since the naming system broke into the Greek alphabet due to the sheer amount of activity in the Atlantic Ocean.
