|name=. Remove this parameter; the article title is used as the name by default..jpg) Hurricane Otto at peak intensity shortly before landfall in Nicaragua on November 24 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 20, 2016 |
| Dissipated | November 26, 2016 |
| Category 3 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 975 mbar (hPa); 28.79 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 23 total |
| Damage | $192 million (2016 USD) |
| Areas affected | Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2016 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons | |
Hurricane Otto was a strong late-season tropical cyclone that impacted parts of Central America in November 2016. It was the first Atlantic hurricane since Cesar–Douglas in 1996 to survive the crossover from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. 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 into a Category 3 hurricane, the first in the month of November since Hurricane Paloma in 2008, and the latest date an Atlantic hurricane attained such intensity on record.[1] 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.[1] Traveling along the Nicaragua–Costa Rica border, the system rapidly weakened to a tropical storm before emerging over the eastern Pacific Ocean, becoming the final storm of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season as well. 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. Otto also dropped torrential rainfall across the affected regions; some areas received up towards a month's worth of rain in only a matter of a day, which led to life-threatening flooding, which in turn led to landslides. After the storm had passed, recovery efforts began with the national mourning of the victims, followed by clean-up efforts. Overall, total economic losses from the hurricane exceeded US$190 million.