Tropical storm Eta, lingering off the west coast of Florida, was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane at 1235 UTC today, before weakening to a tropical storm by 1800 UTC. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported heavy rains and gusty winds across west-central Florida. As of 1800 UTC, Eta was 115 miles southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 70 MPH with higher gusts — just shy of Category 1 hurricane status — moving north-northeast at 10 MPH. On its current track, Eta will move closer to — but just offshore — the west-central Florida coast today and tonight before moving inland over the northern portion of the Florida peninsula on Thursday. Eta is expected to continue northeastward into the Atlantic late Thursday or early Friday.
“To say this 2020 hurricane season has been a busy one is an understatement!” said Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV. He cited the NHC’s 1500 UTC discussion that suggested Eta had peaked in intensity, and that an eye feature is no longer evident in radar or passive microwave satellite imagery.
Read more – via American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources http://www.arrl.org/news/view/eta-isn-t-done-yet-florida-ares-group-asked-to-staff-shelters
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