Iota strengthens into category 4 hurricane off Colombia - U.S. NHC

Iota has strengthened into a "dangerous" category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.

The hurricane was expected to bring "potentially catastrophic winds, life-threatening storm surge, and extreme rainfall impacts to central America", the Miami-based weather forecaster said in a previous advisory. Iota is likely to make landfall in northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras on Monday night, it said.

Iota was located about 45 miles (70 km) east-northeast of Isla De Providencia, Colombia, packing maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (225 km per hour).