South Florida is now in the cone of Hurricane Eta

The National Hurricane Center issued an update on Hurricane Eta Tuesday that puts Florida in the cone of uncertainty.

The hurricane center’s Tuesday afternoon update had the storm potentially reaching South Florida as a tropical storm on Sunday.

Eta made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm and was traveling west, away from Florida, at 5 mph with sustained winds of 140 mph, according to the hurricane center.

4 pm EST: Extremely dangerous Hurricane #Eta is making landfall just south of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, with estimated maximum winds of 140 mph. For more information, visit https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/MZfFsA6iGo
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) November 3, 2020

It is expected to continue through Honduras before traveling up the coast of Belize and then cutting northeast across Cuba to South Florida. The storm could then travel up the state to Tampa Bay.

“At this time we don’t expect anything stronger than a sub-tropical storm which could bring our rain chances up,” said Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay. “This is a complicated forecast and any little change now could bring big changes in impacts on Florida.”

It was unclear Tuesday if will Eta move into the Gulf of Mexico or remain east over the Atlantic.

The mountains of Central America could weaken Eta to a tropical storm or even depression by as soon as Wednesday. Traveling across the Caribbean Sea, Eta could strengthen again before it reaches Florida, most likely as a hybrid or sub-tropical storm.

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