Although the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season had become the most active on record, it was noteworthy for not having a storm reach Category 5 intensity. Considering how crazy the 2020 season has been, it had to find a way to produce a Category 5. Hurricane Iota – the 30th named storm, 13th hurricane and 6th major hurricane of the season – was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday morning with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, making it the Atlantic’s latest Category 5 hurricane on record. Iota is also the second Atlantic major hurricane in the month of November 2020, the first occurrence of such event on record (Eta came close to Category 5 status in a similar area). Prior to Iota, the only Category 5 hurricane recorded in the Atlantic in the month of November was the 1932 Cuba hurricane.

As of 1:00 p.m. EST Monday, Hurricane Iota was centered near 13.5°N 82.3°W, and was moving westward at about 9 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 140 knots (160 mph), with an estimated minimum pressure of 918 mb. Iota rapidly intensified Sunday into early Monday, but recent reconnaissance aircraft suggests Iota may have peaked in intensity. Regardless, Iota is likely to be a high-end Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane at landfall in Nicaragua, the same region that was severely impacted by Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. Iota should quickly weaken after moving inland late tonight or very early Tuesday, and is likely to become a remnant low by Thursday over the mountainous terrain of central America.