UPDATE: Hurricane Otto makes landfall in Costa Rica

UPDATE 4:17 p.m. Eye of Hurricane Otto made landfall in Los Chiles, north of Alajuela province at 3:30 p.m. and is moving towards Upala. The National Meteorological Institute (IMN) reports gusts up to 96 mph in the area.

The IMN expects Otto to reach the Guanacaste cities of La Cruz and Liberia at around 9 p.m.

Original story continues here:

The eye of Hurricane Otto made landfall in the southern Caribbean community of Bluefields, Nicaragua at noon on Thursday, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) confirmed.

The Category 2 hurricane keeps moving at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour (6 mph) and is generating sustained winds of up to 175 km/h (108 mph).

The IMN report states that intermittent rains and strong gusts are hitting communities mostly in the northeastern region of Costa Rica.

The agency reported cumulative rainfall levels in the last five hours range between 100 and 170 mm (4 – 6.6 inches) in that area. Rainfall levels in the Central Valley and the mountainous areas of the Pacific and the Nicoya Peninsula in Guanacaste range between 5 and 15 mm (2-6 inches).

The IMN recorded gusts throughout the morning of up to 90 kilometers per hour (56 mph) in the Central Valley and up to 35 mph in the North Caribbean. The IMN forecasts that cloud conditions and precipitation levels will maintain constant between 50 and 80 mm (2-3 inches) in the Caribbean and the Northern Zone.

Rainfall levels in the Central and Southern Pacific are expected to range between 30 and 50 mm (1-2 inches).

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Read our complete Hurricane Otto coverage here.
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