Felix Slammed Nicaragua Long Before Ida

Ida continued to unleash flooding rain in Nicaragua Thursday and Thursday night after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. Ida was the second hurricane in three years to strike this Central American country. After moving over land Ida weakened to a tropical depression.

The last hurricane to slam into Nicaragua was Felix from 2007. Felix was a powerful Category 5 hurricane when sit lammed northeastern Nicaragua. Landfall occurred during the early morning of Sept. 4. Felix's maximum sustained winds at this time were 160 mph.

Felix rapidly weakened over land, becoming a tropical rainstorm by dawn on Sept. 5. The system finally dissipated during the evening of Sept. 6.

Felix has been blamed for at least 130 deaths in Nicaragua and Honduras. Most of the deaths occurred in Nicaragua. The powerful winds and storm surge that accompanied Felix severely damaged structures along the coast from Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, northward.

Flooding, triggered by Felix's torrential rain, caused additional damage over inland parts of Nicaragua and Honduras. Puerto Cabeza topped Felix's rainfall totals list with 7.11 inches. La Ceiba, Honduras, was inundated by 6.17 inches of rain.

In addition to its intensity at landfall, the track of Felix is significantly different from current Hurricane Ida. Felix originated as a tropical depression east of the Windward Islands. It took Felix just under five days to reach Nicaragua after forming as a depression. Ida will do the same in less than a day.

The site of Felix's landfall was 23 miles northeast of Puerto Cabezas. The storm continued westward before weakening. Ida is currently moving northwestward and pressing inland about 85 miles to the southwest of Puerto Cabeza.

Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski