Hurricane “Julia” makes landfall in Nicaragua
Hurricane “Julia” made landfall along the coast near Laguna de Perlas in Nicaragua at 07:15 UTC on October 9, 2022. The system had maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph), making it a Category 1 hurricane.
Julia continued moving westward after making landfall and was still a hurricane – with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph) – at 12:00 UTC.1
At the time, its center was located about 100 km (60 miles) WNW of Bluefields, Nicaragua and 190 km (115 miles) E of Managua, Nicaragua.
The storm had a minimum central pressure of 989 hPa and was moving west at 26 km/h (16 mph).
This general motion is expected to continue through tonight, followed by a slight turn to the west-northwest on Monday, October 10.
Hurricane-force winds were extending outward up to 55 km (35 miles) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds up to 185 km (115 miles).
On the forecast track, the center of Julia is expected to continue moving across Nicaragua today and emerge over the eastern Pacific by tonight.
The system is then forecast to move near or along the Pacific coasts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala on Monday and Monday night.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Nicaragua north of Puerto Cabezas to the Honduras/Nicaragua border.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Nicaragua south of Bluefields to the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border; Nicaragua north of Puerto Cabezas to the Honduras/Nicaragua border; Pacific coast of Nicaragua; Pacific coast of Honduras; Coast of El Salvador.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Honduras from the Nicaragua/Honduras border to Punta Patuca; Pacific coast of Guatemala
Additional weakening is expected today as Julia moves over Nicaragua, but it is still forecast to be a tropical storm when it emerges off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua by tonight.
It’s is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression on Monday night and dissipate by Tuesday, October 11.
Before reaching Nicaragua, Julia passed over the Colombian islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a “maximum alert” there and asked hotels to prepare space to shelter the vulnerable population. Officials in San Andres imposed a curfew to limit people in the streets. Flights to the islands were suspended.2
Guillermo González, director of Nicaragua’s Disaster Response System, told official media that people at high risk had been evacuated from coastal areas by noon Saturday.
The army said it delivered humanitarian supplies to Bluefields and Laguna de Perlas for distribution to 118 temporary shelters.
In Bluefields, however, life appeared little changed Saturday night, and people expressed reluctance to leave their homes.
References:
1 Hurricane Julia Intermediate Advisory Number 12A – NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL – 800 AM EDT Sun Oct 09 2022
2 Julia hits Nicaragua and may cause life-threatening floods throughout Central America – NPR – October 8/9, 2022
Featured image: Hurricane “Julia” at 14:00 UTC on October 9, 2022. Credit: NOAA/GOES-East, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers
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