Hurricane Eta – November 2020

Hurricane Eta made landfall in Nicaragua as a category 4 hurricane on November 3 bringing major devastation in its wake. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Eta had sustained wind speeds of 105 mpg at the time of landfall, dropping off from the recorded high of 165mph just one day prior. A 12-year-old girl died in a mudslide in San Pedro Sula, the main population center in northern Honduras. Thousands are currently displaced and are dealing with flooding and power outages. 

Eta wore down its strength to be a Tropical Depression. However, it is expected to move off of Central America and into the warmer waters of the Caribbean Sea, where it is anticipated that it will start to rebuild its strength. Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued to the Cayman Islands and Tropical Storm Watches are in effect for western and central Cuba. Eta’s current trajectory also projects that the Bahamas and much of southern and western Florida to possibly experience direct hits. Additional watches will likely be issued on Friday, November 6 for parts of the Bahamas, South Florida and the Florida Keys.

Current models suggest that Eta will make landfall with the mainland United States by Sunday, November 8, as either a Tropical or Subtropical Storm. This designation means heavy rainfall is expected with sustained wind speeds of 40mph-65mph. Although forecasts become less certain the farther into the future they try to predict, the possibility exists and could be considered likely that Eta will move into the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida’s west coast and move north into the Florida Panhandle, as well as Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.