Hurricane Beta was a compact and intense tropical cyclone that impacted the southwestern Caribbean in late October 2005. Beta was the twenty-fourth tropical storm, fourteenth hurricane, and final of a record seven major hurricanes of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. On October 21, a developing tropical wave entered the eastern Caribbean Sea and spawned Tropical Storm Alpha the following day. As the wave entered the southwestern Caribbean, convection redeveloped and on October 26, the system spawned another low-pressure area which developed into Tropical Depression Twenty-six. The depression intensified into a tropical storm the next morning and was named Beta. By the morning of October 28, the storm intensified into a hurricane, the fourteenth of the season. Beta underwent rapid intensification for several hours to attain its peak intensity with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) on October 30. The storm began to deteriorate before landfall, weakening to Category 2 status as it crossed the Nicaraguan coastline. Rapid weakening followed landfall, and the storm dissipated early the next morning. Category 3 hurricane: peak winds of 115 mph (100 knots), lowest pressure 962 mb. October 26 – October 31, 2005. Landfall: October 30 at 105 mph, 12.9°N 83.5°W. Accumulated cyclone energy: 6.5. Wiki link Track: NOAA National Hurricane Center, HURDAT2 best track AL272005 (public domain).