CNN –
Hurricane Julia made landfall in Nicaragua early Sunday as a Category 1 storm, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm had sustained winds of 85 mph when it made landfall near Laguna de Perlas around 1:15 a.m., the center said.
Along with hurricane-force winds, 6 to 10 inches of deadly rain are possible in Nicaragua, with isolated amounts of up to 15 inches, forecasters said.
“Life-threatening flooding and mudslides possible from heavy rain over Central America and southern Mexico through early next week,” the hurricane center said in its 2 p.m. update morning ET
A storm surge of up to four feet above normal tide levels is possible on St. Andrew and Providence Islands. A storm surge of up to six feet and large, damaging waves were expected along the coast of Nicaragua.
After moving into Nicaragua on Sunday, the storm is expected to approach the Pacific coasts of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala on Monday and Monday night.
“Julia is expected to weaken to a tropical depression on Monday and dissipate by Monday night or Tuesday,” the NHC said.