Hurricane Julia raked across Nicaragua Sunday, lashing the country with winds and heavy rain and bringing potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides to much of Central America.
October 9, 2022
Hurricane Julia raked across Nicaragua Sunday, lashing the country with winds and heavy rain and bringing potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides to much of Central America.
Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 85 miles per hour (140 kph) when the storm made landfall near the Laguna de Perlas area at 0715 GMT, the country’s weather agency said.
By late morning, the fifth Atlantic hurricane of the season had weakened slightly to a tropical storm with top sustained winds at near 70 miles per hour as it churned westward across Nicaragua.
But the US National Hurricane Center warned that Julia—whose center was some 65 miles northeast of the capital Managua at 1500 GMT—was still packing a punch, not just for Nicaragua but for neighboring countries.
“This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides across Central America today and Monday,” with dangerous conditions also reaching southern Mexico, the NHC said in its latest advisory.
