The Eta storm hit Central America as a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday. In Guatemala, more than 50 people have died in landslides caused by storm Eta.
Written content from both Teller Report and Bay News
It has also wreaked havoc in Nicaragua and Honduras, among others.
According to President Giammattei, the death toll rose from four in the morning to more than 50 on Thursday morning.
Eta remains a tropical depression although deep convection has been increasing near and over the center this morning.
It’s expected to strengthen into a tropical storm again today in the Caribbean and Hurricane Hunters will investigate Eta later today.
Eta will move toward Cuba, then slow down and turning northwestward or westward as Eta pivots around a cut off low. That will result in Eta being near the Keys and South Florida then being pulled back west toward the Gulf.
Wind shear, land interaction and cooler water temperatures will all play a role in the future of Eta and the details in the location and timing of Eta will be very important to impacts in Florida.
There is an increasing risk of wind and rainfall in South Florida and the Florida Keys, including tropical storm force winds.
For our area, Eta is forecast to be in the Gulf of Mexico early next week. If the center of Eta is on the northern portion of the cone closer to us, we would expect high winds and rainfall. If Eta ends up on the southern end of the cone we would have much fewer impacts here.
While we could get a couple of inches of rain in Tampa Bay, the Florida Keys and South Florida look to get much higher amounts, perhaps 5 to 10 inches of rain.
We expect hazardous boating conditions over the Gulf of Mexico starting late this weekend into next week. Read more from Bay News – more from Teller Report
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