Tropical Storm Eta moving north in Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Storm Eta is on themove again. Eta, whichis still bringing rainy and gusty conditions to South Florida as it lingers in the Gulf of Mexico, is now moving northward at 7 mph after being stationary formost of Tuesday.
Eta was 110 miles north of thewestern tip of Cuba with winds of 60 mph, according to the 7 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters say Eta, which dropped double-digit rainfall totals on Broward and Palm Beach counties, will move north or north-northeast through Wednesday night and then travel northeast Thursday. It could be near hurricane strength (74 mph winds) Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
The northern Gulf Coast remains a likely landfall area. The future track has shifted a bit to the east and now includes more of Tampa and areas south.
A tropical storm watch has been issued for Florida’s west coast from Englewood to the Suwanee River.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for Dry Tortugas.
If Eta hits the northern Gulf, it is expected to have weakened to tropical depression strength by the time it makes landfall this weekend, with top winds of less than 39 mph.
A flash flood warning remains in effect Tuesday for half of Broward County and northern Miami-Dade County as the ragged edge of Tropical Storm Eta threatened to dump more rain on the region.
Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, said the storm was entering a “hostile environment” of dry air and wind shear that would limit the extent it could strengthen.
Although the storm is heading away from South Florida, the region remains on high alert for rain and flooding.
The region may also experience king tides, the seasonal high tides that can flood coastal neighborhoods, as early as Thursday.
Before that, Eta will continue to bring swells to southern Florida “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the hurricane center said.
As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, fewer than 300 households in South Florida were without power due to Eta, according to Florida Power & Light.
Tropical Storm Eta made landfall in the Florida Keys late Sunday, as the storm’s rain bands subjected South Florida to high winds and “life-threatening” flash floods, the hurricane center said.
Eta was the first storm of the 2020 season to make landfall in Florida. Louisiana, by contrast, has been hit with five named storms — Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta, and Tropical Storms Cristobal and Marco.
The storm came ashore on Lower Matecumbe Key, just south of Islamorada. But its wind field was so wide, reaching up to 310 miles from the storm’s center, that it brought heavy rain and dangerous winds to Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Subtropical Storm Theta formed Monday night in the Atlantic, becoming a record-breaking 29th named storm in what has already been a historic hurricane season. Theta, which became a tropical storm on Tuesday afternoon, formed far out in the eastern Atlantic andwas producing top winds of 70 mph.
The storm broke the previous record of 28 named storms set in the 2005 season, according to the National Hurricane Center.
There’s also a possible area of disturbance, Invest 98L, in the southwest Caribbean near where Eta formed. It has a80% chance of developing into a tropical depression late this week or this weekend, according to forecasters — but it’s not expected to move northward and threaten the U.S.
“At least right nowthere’s no signs of that from many of the models,” Molleda said.
The next named storm would be Iota.