Julia hits Central America and may cause life-threatening floods

A fisherman secures a boat in La Libertad, El Salvador, before the arrival of Hurricane Julia on Sunday. (Moises Castillo/AP)

MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Julia hit Nicaragua's central Caribbean coast on Sunday and dumped torrential rains across Central America before an expected reemergence over the Pacific.

Julia hit as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), though its winds had dipped to tropical storm force of 50 mph (85 kph), by late afternoon as it pushed across Nicaragua.