A rare late November Hurricane has formed in the southwest Caribbean just eight days before the end of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Hurricane Hunters flew into the storm Tuesday afternoon and found maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and a well defined eye. Otto is now the latest hurricane on record to form in the Caribbean Sea.
As of Tuesday evening, Otto was located 235 miles east of Costa Rica and nearly stationary. However, high pressure to the north is forecast to steer the system west toward Central America by early Wednesday. The Category One Hurricane is likely to make landfall in Nicaragua or Costa Rica Thanksgiving Day.
The primary threats from Otto are flooding and mudslides due to heavy rain. The friction caused by the mountainous terrain of the land is then likely to significantly weaken the system by the time it emerges over the Pacific early Friday morning.
This storm is not only rare because of it’s timing, but if it were to make landfall in Costa Rica, it would be the first hurricane to do so since NOAA began tracking cyclones in 1842. A landfall in Nicaragua would also be a rare occurrence, as Otto would be the latest in a season to do so.
