Deadly Eta roars toward Florida Keys
Tropical Storm Eta pounded Cuba with 60 mph winds, heavy rains and storm surge Sunday as forecasters warned the deadly storm would strengthen en route to the Florida Keys.
Gov. Ron Desantis warned Floridians to stash seven days of supplies. National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said in a Facebook Live post that there was little time to waste before the storm arrives, possibly within hours.
“You’re going to be dealing with Eta all week,” Graham said. “It’s going to take a lot to get this thing out of here.”
Last week Eta stormed through Central America as a Category 4 hurricane, triggering deadly mudslides that destroyed entire villages. The center of Eta was forecast to pass near or over the Florida Keys into Monday, and be over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico late Monday and Tuesday.
“Exactly where and when Eta makes this turn will determine the extent and magnitude of impacts in Florida,” he said. “Although locally damaging winds, heavy rain and some flooding are likely in at least South Florida and the Florida Keys.”
The Florida Keys and peninsula have mostly been spared the brunt of damage from the record-setting 2020 Atlantic hurricane season that has spawned 28 named systems. Incredibly, no landfalls have occurred in the state yet this season. But Accuweather warned that Eta may pose a significant threat to lives and property and, at the very least, an interruption to daily activities and travel late this weekend and early next week.
A hurricane warning was issued for the Florida Keys. Forecasters predict 8-12 inches of rain will fall over parts of South Florida. Eta’s path later next week and beyond was uncertain. Accuweather said the most likely scenario was for Eta to roll off of Florida and emerge in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico early this week, possibly restrengthening into a hurricane yet again.
As of 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Eta was centered 170 miles south-southeast of Miami with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The storm was pushing north-northwest at 17 mph.
Eta made history last week when it matched the strength of Hurricane Laura, the strongest storm of the brutal 2020 hurricane season, with winds peaked at 150 mph. That’s just a few miles per hour short of a Category 5 storm.
Eta brought death and destruction to Central America, where an estimated 100 people were believed buried in a rain-fueled landslide in Guatemala. Fresh landslides forced rescue workers to delay efforts to reach 150 homes buried in up to 50 feet of mud.