Last hour of tropical storm Bonnie, LIVE: heavy rains in Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Bonniethe second tropical storm this year in the Atlantic, strengthened slightly this Friday as its maximum winds rose to 75 km/h and it already dumped heavy rains on areas of southern Nicaragua and north of Costa Ricawhere it will arrive tonight.

The system can also cause flash floods and mudslides in some parts of these two Central American countries, said a bulletin issued at 5:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT) by the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Bonniewhich began its trajectory in the southern part of the islands of Windward and followed by Caribbean near the shores of Venezuela Y Colombiais located about 100 miles (160 km) east-southeast of Bluefields (Nicaragua) and is moving west with a ground speed of 17 mph (28 km/h).

LOOK: Nicaragua decrees green and yellow alerts before Bonnie’s imminent impact

According to the trajectory predicted by the NHC, based in Miami (Florida), The weather phenomenon “will move through southern Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica today,” to emerge over the eastern Pacific Ocean on Saturday.

It will then move out to sea but parallel to the coast of El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico from Saturday to Monday with possibly reinforced winds.

LOOK: Cuba issues the first tropical cyclone warning before the arrival of “Bonnie”

There are several warnings and surveillance orders for the passage of this system for areas of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Colombian island of San Andrés.

The path of Tropical Storm Bonnie. (EFE).

The most important is a hurricane watch (passage of the system in 12 to 24 hours), which covers from the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica to the Pearl Lagoon, in the first of the two countries.

The Pacific coast of El Salvador, Guatemala and the south of Mexico they should monitor the progress of this system, the NHC warned.

It can also produce a storm surge, with seas rising 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels in the area where it makes landfall, forecasters added.

The tropical storm will produce heavy rains in parts of Nicaragua Y Costa Rica up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) in localized areas through Saturday, which can cause “life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.”

So far in the current hurricane season in the Atlantic, which began on June 1 and, according to meteorological services, is going to be more active than normal, there has also been another named storm, Alex, which formed on June 5 near the Yucatan Peninsula with the remnants of Hurricane Agatha, the first formed this year in the Pacific area.

Alex caused rain in the Yucatan, western Cuba and southern Florida.

Source: Elcomercio