Iota Rapidly Strengthens

Iota rapidly strengthened overnight into an extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane. Iota has maximum winds of 160 mph and a minimum pressure of 917 mb.

Iota is about 40 miles west of Isla de Providencia, Colombia as of Monday morning. The hurricane is moving west at about 9 mph.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the following areas:
* Providencia
* The coast of Nicaragua from the Honduras/Nicaragua border to
Sandy Bay Sirpi
* The coast of northeastern Honduras from Punta Patuca to the
Honduras/Nicaragua border

Catastrophic wind damage is expected near Iota’s eyewall in Nicaragua as the hurricane moves onshore tonight. A life-threatening storm surge of 15-20 feet is expected within the hurricane warning. Honduras, northern Nicaragua, southeast Guatemala, and southern Belize could pick up 10-20 inches of rain. Flash flooding and mudslides are likely in these areas.