Q COSTA RICA NEWS – Why did Otto not lose strength despite landfall? The answer to the question lies in Lake Nicaragua, the large body of water north of the Costa Rica border and in the path of Otto.
According to Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) meteorologist Daniel Poleo, on touching the lake waters the hurricane resumed its strength and did not degrade to a tropical storm as had been expected.
Poleo explained that phenomenon regained force reaching Lake Nicaragua.
At this moment, 9:30pm Thursday, the eye of the hurricane, continuing as a category 1 hurricane, is between Upala and La Cruz and Upala as it moves out to the Pacific, expected by 1:00am.
How do hurricanes gain strength?
According to NASA, the short answer is that a hurricane gets its strength as it passes over warm ocean waters. These storms are low-pressure areas that form over warm ocean waters in the summer and early fall.
The long answer. A hurricane starts out as a tropical disturbance, which is an area over warm water with forming rain clouds. A tropical disturbance can grow into a tropical depression if it reaches winds up to 60 km/h (38 miles per hour), and this can form a tropical storm when temperatures get to at least 61 km/h (39 miles per hour). Once wind speeds hit at least 120 km/h, the tropical storm will become a hurricane.
Although scientists don’t know exactly how or why a hurricane forms, they do know that a hurricane requires water temperatures of at least 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). NASA can see the formation of hurricanes with the use of satellites that take pictures from space. Some of these satellites can measure cloud and ocean temperatures, speed and direction of the wind and how fast the rain is falling in the area.
There are five different categories of hurricanes, each with its own top speeds. A category one hurricane features winds of up to 150 km/h (95 miles per hour) and does the least damage. A category five hurricane is the deadliest and has winds of up to 250 km/h (155 miles per hour).
