Hurricane Otto still going as tropical cyclone, into the record books – 2016 was the ‘year-long’ hurricane season
26 November 2016 (7 News) – Since you were probably engrossed in turkey and football when it happened, you may have missed some big weather news. Otto did some pretty unusual things. No. Not that Otto. Hurricane Otto made landfall near San Juan de Nicaragua, Nicaragua at 1 PM EST with 110 mph sustained winds (National Hurricane Center). That gives Otto a few records:
- As a strong cat 2, Otto gets the record for the strongest hurricane anywhere in the Atlantic basin for this time of year (Eric Blake, hurricane specialist at NHC)
- And by far the strongest in that part of the Caribbean at anytime of year (Eric Blake)
- Otto is the latest hurricane on record in the western Caribbean, beating the previous record set by Martha in 1969 (Philip Klotzbach, hurricane specialist at Colorado State University)
- Otto is now the southernmost landfalling hurricane on record for Central America (National Hurricane Center)
- And the latest landfalling hurricane anywhere in the Atlantic basin (Philip Klotzbach).
All of that kept the Hurricane Hunters far from home for the holiday (Rick Knabb, NHC Director). But we aren’t quite done with Otto yet. Otto crossed over Central America and reemerged in the Pacific while maintaining its tropical cyclone status. [more]
Otto: Still Going, Into the Record Books
By Marshall Shepherd
25 November 2016 (Forbes) – On Thanksgiving I am usually eating and watching football. That is just what you do in late November going into December. This year I was doing something that haven’t done in … oh wait, forever. I was watching Hurricane Otto make landfall on the coast of Nicaragua and bring over a foot of rainfall to parts of Costa Rica. Colorado State University hurricane expert Dr. Phil Klotzbach tweeted a couple interesting meteorological facts: “Otto has intensified to 100 mph, the strongest Atlantic hurricane this late in the season since 1934 … Hurricane Otto’s landfall in Nicaragua is the latest calendar year hurricane landfall for any Atlantic basin TC on record.” Watching a hurricane make landfall in Central America on Thanksgiving is strange so I began to reflect on the first named storm of the Atlantic basin season. Do you remember when it was? January. Yep, January. 2016 was truly the year long hurricane season. [more]
