Hurricane Julia hits Nicaragua with torrential rainfall

Hurricane Julia hit Nicaragua’s central Caribbean coast and dumped torrential rains across Central America before reemerging over the Pacific as a tropical storm. It was forecast to travel parallel to the coasts of El Salvador and Guatemala on Monday.
Julia hit Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), though its winds had dipped to tropical storm force of 40 mph (65 kph) by Sunday night as it moved past Nicaragua.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Julia was centered about 95 miles (155 kilometers) southeast of San Salvador, El Salvador and was moving west at 15 mph (24 kph).
It said life-threatening flash floods and mudslides were possible across Central America and southern Mexico through Tuesday, with the storm expected to bring as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain in isolated areas.