ORLANDO, Fla. — South Florida is in Hurricane Eta's cone of uncertainty as the storm batters Nicaragua's coast with heavy rain and 140 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center said in its 4 p.m. EST update.
The storm is expected to weaken significantly as it travels through Central America before taking a turn to the northeast and back out to the Caribbean Sea later this week. It's then expected to pass over Cuba and approach South Florida on Sunday as a tropical storm. However there is "significant uncertainty" among the models about where Eta will go after leaving Central America so it's still too early to say what impact, if any, the storm will have on Florida, forecasters said.
The heart of powerful storm moved ashore in Nicaragua Tuesday with devastating winds and rains that had already destroyed rooftops and caused rivers to overflow, the NHC said.
"While it is too soon to determine the exact timing, magnitude, and location of possible impacts from wind and rainfall, interests in Cuba, southern Florida and the Florida Keys should monitor the progress of Eta through the week," forecasters said.
The 12th hurricane of the year was located about 45 miles west-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua with maximum sustained winds at 105 mph, according to the NHC's 10 p.m. EST update Tuesday.
The compact storm has hurricane-force winds that extend outward to 25 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds reaching up to 115 miles.
Eta is moving at a turtle-like pace of 6 mph, making it likely to be a big danger of torrential downpours and life-threatening flash floods over parts of Nicaragua and Honduras as moves over the coast of Central America, forecasters said.
Eta may produce between 15 and 25 inches of rain, with isolated highs of 35 inches, across central and northern Nicaragua into much of Honduras through Thursday, forecasters said.
Eastern Guatemala and southern Belize may see between 10 to 20 inches through Thursday as well. Five to 10 inches of rain, with a potential for 15 inches, will fall across parts of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and southern Haiti over the same period of time.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast of Nicaragua from the Honduras/Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi. The northeastern coast of Honduras from Punta Patuca to the Honduras/Nicaragua border and the coast of Nicaragua from south of Sandy Bay Sirpi to Laguna de Perlas are under a tropical storm warning.
Dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 14 to 21 feet above normal levels within the Hurricane Warning area along the coast of Nicaragua.
Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, due to swells produced by Eta, are expected to impact parts of the Central America coast and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico over the next few days.
Forecast models show Eta dying down to a tropical depression while over land, but then turning back into the Caribbean and heading northeast toward Cuba by the weekend.
"By Sunday it re-emerged over the northwest Caribbean, further strengthening possible. Forecast modeling, again why we have to watch it here in Florida as it keeps it in that general vicinity as we look longer term," said Fox 35 meteorologist Jayme King, noting some models have it over Cuba or even touching Florida by Tuesday. "Very close to us here in the Sunshine State."
Only three other full Atlantic seasons on record have seen more than 12 hurricanes: the 1969 season saw 12, 2005 saw 15, and 2010 saw 12, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. Klotzbach also said Eta joined Hurricane Laura as the strongest storms of this season.
