Tropical Storm ETA made landfall early Thursday morning near Cedar Ki. It is the fourth time the storm has made landfall and the second time in Florida. The National Hurricane Center said the storm made landfall at Cedar Ki at about 4 am with maximum winds of 50 mph. Western Florida was hit by gale tropical winds and torrential rains on Wednesday. Officials in areas such as Saint Petersburg, Sarasota and Madeira Beach have already responded to reports of torn roofs and flooded streets. >>> Tracking storms using the WESH 2 news app, ETA’s strength briefly intensified into a hurricane Wednesday morning, but then receded into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane watch has been lifted for parts of Florida’s west coast, but tropical storm warnings still apply for Englewood as far as the Swaney River. Sumter, Marion, Lake and Polk counties are still subject to tropical storm warnings. >>> Schools Shut Down Due to Tropical Storm ETA In addition to tropical storm winds and hurricane-strength storms, much of western and central Florida will receive another 1 to 3 inches of rain through Thursday. Wind from the winds will cause a height of 2 to 5 feet along most of Florida’s west coast, including the extremely vulnerable Tampa Bay area. Water levels are already 2 to 3 feet higher and the water will continue to build up over the next several hours. This will be ETA’s fourth landing. The NHC said it first made landfall in Central America last week as a Category 4 hurricane, then in Cuba and in Lower Matecombe late Sunday, with the storm expected to dissipate over the western Atlantic by the end of the week. PHN0eWxlPi5lbWJlZC1yYWRhciB7IGNsZWFyOiBib3RoOyBoZWlnaHQ6IDEwMHZ3OyB9IEBtZWRpYSBvbmx5IHNjcmVlbiBhbmQgKG1pbi13aWR0aDogNDEuMjVyZW0pIHsgLmVtYmVkLXJhZGFyIHsgaGVpZ2h0OiA1MDBweDsgfSB9PC9zdHlsZT4KPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cHM6Ly93aWRnZXRzLWx0cy5tZWRpYS53ZWF0aGVyLmNvbS93eHdpZGdldC5sb2FkZXIuanM / +
Tropical Storm ETA made landfall early Thursday morning near Cedar Ki. It is the fourth time the storm has made landfall and the second time in Florida.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm made landfall at Cedar Ki at about 4 am with maximum winds of 50 mph.
Western Florida was hit by gale tropical winds and torrential rains on Wednesday. Officials in areas such as Saint Petersburg, Sarasota and Madeira Beach have already responded to reports of torn roofs and flooded streets.
>>> Track storms with the WESH 2 News app
ETA strengthened in the midst of a hurricane for a while on Wednesday morning, but then weakened into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane watch has been lifted for parts of Florida’s west coast, but tropical storm warnings still apply for Englewood as far as the Swaney River. Sumter, Marion, Lake and Polk counties are still subject to tropical storm warnings.
>>> Schools close due to Tropical Storm ETA
In addition to tropical storm winds and hurricane strength storms, much of western and central Florida will receive another 1 to 3 inches of rain through Thursday.
Wind from the winds will cause a height of 2 to 5 feet along most of Florida’s west coast, including the extremely vulnerable Tampa Bay area. Water levels are already 2 to 3 feet higher and the water will continue to build up over the next several hours.
This will be ETA’s fourth landing. It first made landfall in Central America last week as a Category 4 hurricane, then in Cuba and in Lower Matecumbe Key late on Sunday.
The commission said the storm was expected to dissipate over the western Atlantic Ocean by the end of the week.
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