On Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m., Tropical Storm Eta’s heaviest bands were moving through Sarasota and Manatee counties. WFTS meteorologist Denis Phillips wrote that the worst winds of the storm—which, on Wednesday, went from a tropical storm to a hurricane before being downgraded again—will occur between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. in Tampa Bay.
In its 1 p.m. update, the National Hurricane Center (pictured above, watch here) expected Eta to reach Florida’s west coast by Thursday morning and exit Florida into the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday afternoon.
Philips (whose famous “Rule No. 7” is “Don't freak out, until i tell you to freak out”) urged his followers to stay put, adding that heavy rains and flooding will likely continue until Thursday morning. Most areas, he said, will see winds of 45 mph-55 mph.
And while low tide is set for Wednesday afternoon, Philips said that the evening’s high tide and heavy rains will raise concerns about storm surge flooding. “After about 2am the storm will be moving far enough away that conditions will improve,” Philips wrote.
He also expects power outages to happen later on Wednesday evening, but emphasized that the storm is weakening and should not become a hurricane again.
“Don't freak out. Don't cave into the hype,” Phillips wrote. “Storms can be scary, but with weakening expected, the news is looking better.”
Still, shelter in Pinellas and Hillsborough County is available. Just don’t drive through any flooded streets or even think about doing a no. 2 in a public park restroom.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you up to the minute news on how Coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Subscribe to our newsletter and follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter.
This article appears in Nov 5-11, 2020.