Record 23rd Tropical Storm Brewing Off Central America

SHAKE AND BLOW

This 27 October, 2005 NOAA satellite image shows Tropical Storm Beta. Beta formed off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua on Thursday and was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane and drench Central America with potentially flooding rain, the US National Hurricane Center said. Storm alerts were posted for the Nicaraguan coast and the adjacent islands. Forecasters said the storm could dump 15 inches(38.1cm) of rain on western Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with isolated amounts up to 20 inches(50.8cm). Beta had top sustained winds of 40 mph (65kph) and was about 135 miles(217km) east-southeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua. The storm was moving slowly northwest at four mph (sixkph) in the warm Caribbean and was expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane, with top winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph), before moving over the Nicaraguan coast by 29 October. AFP photo /HO/NASA/Getty.

Managua (AFP) Oct 27, 2005
Tropical Storm Beta, the record 23rd storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, threatened Central America Thursday with heavy rains and winds as it appeared set to grow to hurricane force within 24 hours, forecasters said.

At 1800 GMT Beta was located in the southwest Caribbean Sea about 260 kilometers (160 miles) off the coast of Nicaragua, blowing winds of 95 kilometers (60 miles) per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

A hurricane watch was in effect for Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, from its border with Costa Rica in the south to its border with Honduras to the north. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.

The storm was expected to intensify and move slowly northward through Friday, according to the center.

Heavy rains of up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) could be expected from Panama to Honduras, it said.

The Nicaraguan government issued an alert Thursday for coastal regions, warning that Beta could hit the country with hurricane-force winds by Sunday.

More than 2,000 people are believed to have died in Guatemala from massive mudslides and flooding brought on by Hurricane Stan, which lashed the region with heavy rains for 10 days in early October.

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SHAKE AND BLOW

Cubans Dig Out After Wilma, Many With Lights Out

Santa Fe, Cuba (AFP) Oct 25, 2005
Cubans began cleaning up after waters that Hurricane Wilma slopped over sea walls and into cities began to recede on Tuesday, although many towns were without power.

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