Hurricane Iota took advantage of a perfect environment, no shear, plenty of atmospheric moisture and a very warm Caribbean Sea to reach and maintain Category 5 status with 160 mph winds.
The first Category 5 Hurricane of the 2020 season occurs in the middle of November. It is the first recorded Category 5 Hurricane since the 1932 Cuba Hurricane to occur in November and is the latest Category 5 Hurricane reported.
Interestingly, Iota has already brought some recorded deaths in Columbia from mudslides triggered by rainfall from Iota’s outer bands. It is going to bring a whole lot more deaths when it hits Nicaragua.