Disturbance forecast to bring even more rain to hurricane-battered Central America
As Central America continued to feel Tropical Storm Iota’s strong winds and flooding rain Tuesday, forecasters were monitoring an area in the Caribbean Sea where they predict a tropical depression could form later this week, increasing the flood risk for the region.
The National Hurricane Center says the disturbance, described as a broad area of low pressure, could form in a day or so over the southwestern Caribbean Sea. Based on the hurricane center’s forecast map, it would be near Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
“Environmental conditions do not appear to be as conducive for development as previously thought, but slow development is possible over the next several days while the system moves slowly westward or west-southwestward across the southwestern Caribbean Sea,” forecasters wrote.
They added: “Regardless of tropical cyclone formation, areas of heavy rain are possible during the next several days from Nicaragua southward across Central America and into Colombia. These rains could cause new flooding concerns, especially across previously inundated areas.”
Forecasters say the system has a 0% chance of formation in the next two days and a 30% chance through the next five days.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Iota is now a tropical storm that is continuing to batter Central America with dangerous winds, flooding rain and life-threatening storm surge as it moves over northeastern Nicaragua. The hurricane, which was a Caegory 5, made landfall Monday night as a strong Category 4 hurricane in nearly the same place as Eta, another Cat 4 hurricane that battered the area two weeks ago.
The National Hurricane Center predicts Iota will continue to weaken and will dissipate over Central America Wednesday night, but forecasters say that “the situation is exacerbated by the fact that Iota is moving across the same general location that Category 4 Hurricane Eta did a little less than two weeks ago.”
To learn more about Iota, visit https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?start#contents
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Disturbance forecast to bring even more rain to hurricane-battered Central America."
