Otto to threaten Central America with flooding, mudslides and damaging winds into Friday

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

November 24,2016; 9:11PM,EST

 

 

Otto, currently a tropical storm, will threaten part of Central America with flooding, mudslides and damaging winds into Friday.
As if the matter was not serious enough for Central America, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador and may have generated a tsunami.
The system made landfall over southeastern Nicaragua during the midday hours on Thursday as a hurricane. Otto will move westward along the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border into Friday.
This is a live loop of the southwestern Caribbean. (NOAA/Satellite)
Otto became the seventh hurricane of the season Tuesday afternoon.
For this part of the Caribbean, this is the latest on record for a hurricane to make landfall, according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.
This graphic shows the most likely path of movement of the center of Otto. Stormy conditions will extend out beyond the center.
Otto to threaten lives and property from Panama to Honduras, El Salvador
Some coastal inundation will occur near and north of the landfall of the eye.
"While the area around the initial point of landfall is sparsely populated, torrential rain and strong winds will continue to push well inland as the storm moves along," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis.
Rainfall may reach 12 inches (300 mm) along the Caribbean coast and over the mountains.
Areas from central Panama to southern Honduras and El Salvador will be at risk for life-threatening flash and urban flooding and mudslides. The worst conditions will occur across southern Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica.

Winds will be strong enough near the center of the storm and in clusters of thunderstorms farther away from the center to knock down trees, cause property damage and power outages.
Cities at risk for dangerous conditions include Rivas and San Carlos, Nicaragua; and Monteverde and La Cruz, Costa Rica.
The storm has already been blamed for three deaths in Panama, the Associated Press reported. Two people were killed in landslides, while a child died after a tree fell on a car.
Seas and surf will remain at dangerous levels over the southwestern Caribbean Sea and will build along the eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean in Central America.
Large ships approaching and waiting to pass through the Panama Canal should be prepared for rough seas. Small craft, such as fishing vessels, in the region should remain in port through Friday. This includes vessels on Lake Nicaragua.
RELATED:
AccuWeather Hurricane Center
How GOES-R will help to revolutionize weather forecasting
6 ways to prepare now for hurricanes
Because of the slow movement of the storm, there will also be the risk of river flooding in the region.
People should not attempt to drive though flooded roads and be prepared to move to higher ground as the situation warrants.
Otto will weaken crossing the mountainous terrain of Central America.
However, the circulation center of the storm will survive into the eastern Pacific Ocean.
If the old center holds on over the eastern Pacific, then Otto will retain its name. However, if the center of Otto diminishes, but a new center develops, then a new name will be given to the storm.
People along the west coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica should be prepared for deteriorating weather conditions on Friday. Seas and surf may remain rough in these areas into this weekend, even as the center of the storm continues to drift westward over the Pacific Ocean.