Hurricane Otto (2016)

Hurricane Otto

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Otto at peak intensity shortly before landfall in southeast Nicaragua on November 24
Formed	November 20, 2016
Dissipated	November 26, 2016
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 115 mph (185 km/h)
Lowest pressure	975 mbar (hPa); 28.79 inHg
Fatalities	23 total
Damage	≥ $50 million (2016 USD)
Areas affected	Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Part of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season and 2016 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Otto was the first tropical cyclone since Hurricane Cesar–Douglas in 1996 to survive the crossover from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, as well as the latest-forming major hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record. Forming late on November 20 in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, Otto was the fifteenth and final named storm, seventh hurricane and fourth major hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. It quickly intensified into a strong tropical storm the next day, and on November 23–24, rapidly strengthened to a Category 3 major hurricane, the first in the month of November since Hurricane Paloma in 2008. Otto made landfall in Nicaragua at peak intensity on November 24, thus becoming the latest hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic basin since 1851 when records began. Traveling along the Nicaragua–Costa Rica border, the system rapidly weakened to a tropical storm before emerging over the eastern Pacific Ocean. Hostile environmental conditions inhibited reorganization, and Otto subsequently degenerated into an elongated trough on November 26.

The hurricane's unusually southern formation in the Caribbean Sea led to impacts in countries rarely affected by tropical cyclones. In particular, Panama and Costa Rica suffered extensive damage. The storm claimed at least 23 lives: 10 in Costa Rica, 9 in Panama, and 4 in Nicaragua. Total economic losses from the hurricane exceeded US$50 million.

On November 12, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) first noted the potential for a low pressure area to develop in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, assessing a low probability for tropical cyclone formation within five days.Atmospheric pressure in that region began falling on November 14, which preceded an increase in convection, or thunderstorms. The broad low pressure area moved slowly and erratically, with a disorganized structure and light winds, disrupted by unfavorable upper-level conditions. On November 19, the convection increased and became better organized, amid marginally favorable conditions. The Hurricane Hunters flew into the system on November 20, observing a well-defined circulation, and the system became a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC that day.