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West Florida was hit by tropical storm force winds and heavy rain much of Wednesday. And officials in areas such as St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Madeira Beach have already responded to reports of torn roofs and flooded streets.
Eta briefly strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday morning, but then weakened into a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane monitoring for parts of the west coast of Florida has been lifted, but tropical storm warnings remain in place for Englewood in Suwannee River, Fla., And for the Flagler / Volusia County Florida line.
Moving at about 10 mph, the storm is 65 miles northwest of St. Petersburg, Florida, the NHC said.
In addition to tropical storm force winds and hurricane force gusts, much of western and central Florida will receive still 1 to 3 inches of rain through Thursday – adding to the more than 6 inches some areas have already received in the past 24 hours, according to CNN meteorologist Michael Guy.
The onshore wind surge will bring a 2 to 5 foot storm surge along much of Florida’s west coast, including the highly vulnerable Tampa Bay area. Water levels are already 2-3 feet above normal and water will continue to build up over the next few hours.
“Cedar Key, north of where a landing is planned, is already reporting minor flooding ahead of landfall,” Guy said.
But it should be the last we hear from Eta. The tropical storm is expected to dissipate over the western Atlantic Ocean by the weekend, the NHC said.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has been particularly active. It set the record for the most named storms in a single season with 29 to date.
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