Hurricane Eta rumbles toward the Gulf states after wiping out Central American towns

When Hurricane Eta made landfall in Nicaragua last week, it may have been a Category 5 storm. A series of unfortunate coincidences meant that all of the aircraft that would usually fly into a storm to measure winds were grounded during some crucial hours, so forecasters were unable to confirm the actual top wind speed. Eta was solidly a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds last Monday night, but satellite data indicated that wind speeds may have reached 190 mph earlier that day.