Otto forecast to hit Central America as rare November hurricane

After swamping Panama with heavy rain, Tropical Storm Otto is forecast to regain hurricane strength before slamming into Nicaragua and Costa Rica on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.

If the storm strengthens as forecast, Otto would be Costa Rica's first direct hit from a hurricane since accurate records began in 1851, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. It would be just the third November hurricane to strike Nicaragua.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for portions of the east coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. About 4,000 people have been evacuated from coastal sections of Costa Rica.

Up to 20 inches of rain are possible across northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua through Thursday, the hurricane center said. Such a deluge will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. A storm surge of up to 4 feet could also swamp coastal areas.

The storm already turned deadly in Panama, where a landslide caused by heavy rains killed two people on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. A third died when a tree fell on a car.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the storm was located 155 miles east-northeast of Limon, Costa Rica. It had sustained winds of 70 mph and was crawling to the west-northwest at 6 mph.

Otto has been fluctuating between tropical storm and hurricane strength over the past day. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when sustained winds reach 74 mph.

Otto gained hurricane status for about 12 hours late Tuesday, making it the seventh hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends Nov. 30. It is also the latest hurricane on record in the Caribbean, according to Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach.

Otto will weaken as it crosses the mountainous terrain of Central America, AccuWeather said. However, the center of the storm may survive into the eastern Pacific Ocean.