Eta nears hurricane strength in Caribbean; 2020 tied for most active season

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Tropical Storm Eta formed in the central Caribbean overnight. Eta is the 28th named storm of the 2020 Hurricane Season, tying the record with 2005 for the most active season in recorded history.

As of 10 p.m. Sunday, Eta has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, and is moving to the west at 13 mph. The storm is currently 235 miles to the east of Nicaragua.

Eta is expected to continue moving westward over the next few days, eventually making landfall in Honduras or Nicaragua on late Monday or early Tuesday of this week. The storm will be moving over the extremely warm waters of the west-central Caribbean Sea, which is jet fuel for a tropical cyclone, along with a very moist & low shear environment. Needless to say, the environmental conditions are primed for strengthening, and Eta is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall in Central America. Given how favorable conditions are, rapid intensification can’t be ruled out.

After landfall in Central America, Eta’s future becomes murky. Models are split on whether or not Eta dissipates over Central America, or re-emerges in the Gulf of Honduras in the Western Caribbean Sea. If the latter occurs, it would open the door for Eta to take a track northward towards Cuba and the Gulf. If this were to occur, it would be towards next weekend. Nothing to get worried about right now, but something we’ll need to watch.

Trust “The Weather Authority” for the latest updates on Eta!


LOCAL FORECAST

As for your Sunday, it’s looking good overall around SW Florida, with a mix of sun & clouds, and a good feel outside, with highs in the upper-80s. There will be a few isolated showers in the afternoon, but shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Now, here’s where we get excited! After a nice weekend with temperatures near average and only a few showers south, we’ll have a second and much STRONGER cold front come through tonight. This may drop our lows into the upper 50s and lower 60s Tuesday morning!

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