A revigorated Eta strengthened into a hurricane off the southwest coast of Florida Wednesday before weakening back down to a strong tropical storm hours later as it takes aim at the state's west coast.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said Eta has now weakened back to a tropical storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. By early Wednesday evening, the storm had moved within about 60 miles west of Tampa, traveling north at about 12 mph.
"It's making a beeline for Florida, tomorrow we're expecting landfall," Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said on "Fox & Friends. "So heavy rain, certainly at least tropical-storm-force winds, some storm surge and even some tropical tornadoes."
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According to the NHC, the storm is expected to make landfall somewhere along the west-central coast by Thursday and then move inland.
Hurricane Eta can be seen swirling off the southwest coast of Florida on Nov. 11. (NOAA/GOES-East)
Eta will then move across the state, ending up in the Atlantic by late Thursday or early Friday.
While Eta may have strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane over warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday morning, forecasters from the NHC said the storm is expected to continue to weaken as it approaches land.
Forecast models show the expected track of Hurricane Eta. (Fox News)
"Expecting landfall sometime tomorrow morning," Dean said. "This is the second landfall for Florida and flash-flooding is going to be the big concern."
Flood watches have been issued in advance of Hurricane Eta. (Fox News)
Heavy rain will be the main threat into west-central Florida starting on Wednesday and lasting through Friday.
Eta is forecast to move across northern Florida after making landfall. (Fox News)
Between 2 to 4 inches of rain will be possible with the risk of flash flooding. Strong winds and isolated thunderstorms also will accompany the system.
A tropical storm warning and storm surge warning remained in effect from Bonita Beach to Suwanee River Fla., including Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor as well as between north of the Suwannee River to Aucilla River.
Tornadoes remained possible throughout portions of western and central Florida throughout the evening.
Eta barely hit land late Sunday as it blew over Lower Matecumbe Key in its first Florida landfall on its way into the Gulf of Mexico, but the storm dumped water over densely populated neighborhoods from Monroe to Palm Beach counties. Some areas of South Florida are expected to see up to 23 inches of rain by the time the storm moves out.
Officials said the storm caused a "100-year" flood event in South Florida that was different from a typical hurricane. Already saturated ground made Eta's rains even worse.
TROPICAL STORM ETA FLOODS SOUTH FLORIDA, MAN IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER DRIVING INTO CANAL
“Once the ground becomes saturated, there’s really no place for the water to go,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told the Associated Press.
Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park in the shadow of the Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Nov. 10, in Davie, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Sunshine returned to many neighborhoods on Tuesday, but floodwaters from the storm stuck around. Residents in Fort Lauderdale's Melrose Park neighborhood voiced their frustrations.
“Getting up in the morning and smelling mildew, smelling the water that’s sitting some feet in your house, and not knowing what to do and can’t do anything, you feel hopeless,” Selena Cook told WSVN-TV. “I didn’t sleep last night. I did not sleep. I tried. Every time it rained, I jump and look out the window.”
Victoria Rodriguez, left, and Angela Mojica, right, walk on a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Nov. 10, in Davie, Fla.
The Tampa Bay region is home to more than 3.5 million people across five coastal counties. No mandatory evacuations were immediately ordered but authorities began opening shelters for anyone needing them.
As the storm takes aim at the Tampa Bay area, officials in Pasco County set up self-serve stations for residents to get sandbags, FOX13 reported.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said special care is taken at shelters to protect people from the coronavirus, such as social distancing, and suggested people bring their own masks.
“Everything will be done to make sure all of our residents are safe," Castor said.
The Florida Highway Patrol closed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that links Pinellas and Manatee counties because of high winds. The approaching storm also forced Tampa International Airport to suspend all operations beginning at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
"All operations are expected to resume Thursday by noon, but could reopen earlier if the airfield and terminal areas are deemed fit," the airport said.
The approaching Eta forced the closure of schools on Wednesday in Charlotte County, Fla.
In Pinellas County, the COVID-19 test site at Tropicana Field has closed ahead of any impacts from Eta. The approaching storm also caused a Veterans Day ceremony in St. Petersburg to be postponed, according to FOX13.
Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Nov. 10, in Davie, Fla. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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Eta was once a Category 4 hurricane before it slammed into Central America on Election Day, and authorities from Panama to Mexico were still surveying the damage following days of torrential rains during the week.
An aerial view of the massive, rain-fueled landslide in the village of Queja, in Guatemala, Nov. 7, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta. (Esteban Biba/Pool Photo via AP) (Esteban Biba/Pool Photo via AP)
The storm killed nearly 70 people from Mexico to Panama, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico early Monday.
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Eta is the 28th named storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. It was followed on Monday by the 29th storm — Theta.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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