Beta (2005)

A tropical depression formed from a westward-moving tropical wave in the extreme southwestern Caribbean Sea on 26 October 2005 about 90 nautical miles north of the central coast of Panama. The system became Tropical Storm Beta on 27 October, gradually strengthened while turning northward, and became a hurricane near Isla de Providencia late on 29 October. Beta intensified rapidly early on 30 October, reached peak strength that morning, then turned southwestward and moved ashore Nicaragua. The cyclone dissipated over west‑central Nicaragua by 31 October.

Beta made direct impacts on the Colombian island of Providencia as a hurricane while passing nearby on 29–30 October. The main landfall on the Central American mainland occurred near La Barra del Río Grande on the central coast of Nicaragua around 1200 UTC (about late morning) 30 October. At the time the eye reached the coast the hurricane’s intensity had decreased slightly from its peak and the landfall strength is estimated at 90 kt (sustained), equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 100 kt (115 mph) around 0600 UTC 30 October, with the lowest central pressure estimated at 962 mb at the same time. That peak made Beta the seventh and final major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) of the 2005 Atlantic season, though its landfall occurred at a lower intensity.

Storm surge and rainfall reports were limited. Moderate storm-surge flooding was reported near the Nicaragua landfall area. Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua recorded 6.39 inches of rain total with 5.16 inches falling in a six-hour period on 29 October. Honduras reported widespread heavy rains, with observed totals as high as 10–20 inches in places and a maximum measured value of 21.82 inches at Trujillo, although it is uncertain how much of that rainfall was directly attributable to Beta.

No deaths were reported in association with Beta. The island of Providencia reportedly suffered extensive damage (details not available), and Nicaragua reported numerous roofs removed and moderate storm-surge flooding near the landfall location. Major flooding occurred in Honduras, but attribution specifically to Beta could not be fully determined from available reports.

A hurricane warning was issued for Providencia about 33 hours before closest approach and for the coast of Nicaragua about 39 hours before landfall. Official track forecasts for Beta were more accurate than the 1995–2004 average, though they had a tendency to predict a landfall too soon and too far north; the GFDL model performed relatively well in specifying the landfall location.