As of Wednesday 11/11/20 Eta has been upgraded to a hurricane, and the National Weather Service has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for most of Florida’s West Coast, including Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee counties.
Report from National Hurricane Center ~
HEAVY SQUALLS WITH TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS SPREADING ONSHORE THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF FLORIDA…
…STORM SURGE WARNING ISSUED FOR A PORTION OF THE FLORIDA WEST COAST…
… A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for Bonita Beach to Suwanee River Florida, including Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor.
The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide…
– Anclote River to Boca Grande, FL incl. Tampa Bay…3-5 ft
– Boca Grande, FL to Bonita Beach, FL including Charlotte
Harbor…2-4 ft
A few tornadoes are possible through tonight over parts
of western and central Florida.
Interests elsewhere along the Gulf Coast of Florida should monitor the progress of Eta. Additional warnings may be required along portions of the Florida Peninsula today.
For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office – www.weather.gov
At 10 a.m. EST, the center of Hurricane Eta was located off the southwest coast of Florida about 115 miles (180 km) west-southwest of Port Charlotte and about 145 miles (235 km) south-southwest of Tampa. Eta is moving toward the north-northeast near 10 mph (17 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue through Thursday. On the forecast track, the center of Eta will move closer to but offshore of the southwest coast of Florida today, approach the west-central coast of Florida tonight, and move inland over the northern portion of the Florida peninsula on Thursday. Eta is expected to move northeastward into the western Atlantic late Thursday or early Friday.
Data from NOAA Doppler weather radars indicate that maximum sustained winds remain near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km), mainly northeast of the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km). A sustained wind of 33 mph (53 km/h) and a gust to 42 mph (68 km/h) were recently measured by a Weatherflow observing station on Sanibel Island. Across the lower Florida Keys, a sustained wind of 39 mph (63 km/h) and a gust to 49
mph (91 km/h) were recently reported at Sand Key. Eta could be near hurricane strength tonight as it approaches the west
coast of Florida, with rapid weakening expected after landfall on Thursday.
Eta is expected to produce the following rainfall totals:
– West and central Florida: through Friday, 2 to 4 inches, with maximum storm total accumulations of 6 inches.
– North and South Florida: an additional 1 to 2 inches, with isolated maximum storm total accumulations of 4 inches in North Florida and 20 inches in South Florida.
Flash and river flooding will be possible in western Cuba on Wednesday, along with landslides in areas of higher terrain. Additional flash and urban flooding will be possible in South Florida, especially across previously inundated areas. Flash, urban, and isolated minor river flooding is expected across portions of West and North Florida through Friday.
The next complete advisory will be issued by NHC at 4 p.m. EST with an intermediate advisory at 1 p.m. EST – www.hurricanes.gov