Thunderstorm clusters had been developing as shown by satellite images on the morning of October 20, 1998. 36 hours later the clusters had become more organized and developed into a tropical depression. By the end of the day it had become a Tropical Storm and was named Mitch. Mitch was destined to become one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on the Western Hemisphere hitting Central America. Many conditions and effects made Hurricane Mitch the most outstanding natural disaster of the 20th century.

There were many conditions that enabled hurricane Mitch to become one of the most dangerous storms. The unlimited supply of water vapor happened to be one of them. Mitch had used the vapor as fuel, strengthening its performance by the warm water that quickly evaporated. There was also a pre-existing surface disturbance that lifted the warm moistened air. In 34 hours, Mitch's central pressure dropped 1.77 inches becoming the "fourth lowest central pressure ever recorded" and increased to a "category 5" storm. These had been only some of the conditions that helped the storm mature so quickly.

These conditions left some short and long term effects on Nicaragua and Honduras. First of all Hurricane Mitch had left Nicaragua faced with a total damage worth of $1.36 billion. The country was barely on its feet as it was. Banana plantation owners had nowhere but roof tops to go to. They stood there for 2 weeks waiting for the water to drain away. Since 60 percent of the area made money off agriculture, jobs had been put into jeopardy because of the ruined fields and food.

In conclusion, Hurricane Mitch not only killed over 9,000 people but set a new record in the books for a category 5 storm. All doors had been opened and let Mitch pass through as it went off on its "deadly rampage." As estimated by Honduras, "Mitch wiped out 50 years of progress in four days." Mitch had destroyed the way of life for the people in Honduras, Nicaragua and other areas that may have been affected and left them in the hands of God.