Eta, the 28th named storm of 2020 and the 12th hurricane of the season, is forecast to make landfall near Florida’s Nature Coast on Thursday, and Tampa Bay is under a tornado watch through 5 p.m. today.
In a Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says Eta has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts. Tampa Bay moved out of Eta’s cone of uncertainty on Tuesday, but on Monday forecasters predicted the wet and windy conditions finally coming to Tampa Bay Wednesday.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman canceled Veteran’s Day plans, and the City of Tampa reminded folks to double check their emergency kits and plans.
Just before 8 a.m., Bay News 9 put the storm about 170 miles south-southwest of Tampa. The NHC says tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 115 miles from the Eta's center.
WFTS’s Denis Phillips says the heaviest weather for Tampa Bay will be overnight Wednesday night and Thursday. “Gusts of 45 mph seems likely along the coast. Scattered power outages possible late Wednesday,” Philips wrote.
Eta (it rhymes with “beta”) grew stronger, curved towards Florida and picked up speed overnight. Son of a bitch.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Florida until 5 PM EST pic.twitter.com/AREVDJNKn1
— NWS Tampa Bay (@NWSTampaBay) November 11, 2020
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This article appears in Nov 5-11, 2020.