Hurricane Iota is fast gaining strength

The hurricane season officially ends at the end of November. Tropics Two more tropical systems rotate and operate in the middle of the season.

Hurricane Iota continues to make landfall in the western Caribbean, very close to where Etta was in the Caribbean a week ago. It blows at a maximum speed of 85 mph and moves west-southwest at a speed of 7 mph. This will generally continue west-west, and thus strengthen.

Ioda is continuing to strengthen rapidly, and it is predicted to become a major hurricane before it causes a landslide on Tuesday. The models are stable in bringing it to Nicaragua and then throwing it over Central America.

In doing so, it will create dangerous flooding. Iota expects 4 to 8 inches of rain with a local total of 12 inches in parts of northern Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.

In the rest of Central America, the system has the potential to generate 20 to 30 inches of rain across northern Nicaragua and Honduras. This rainfall can lead to landslides in high-lying areas, with significant, life-threatening flash floods and river flooding.

At this point there are no indications that it will cause a turn like the Etta, but like any system in the Caribbean, Iota is watching.