A hurricane-force tropical hurricane Ata formed the final land mountain on the west coast of Florida early Thursday morning, with heavy rain falling, as the hurricane’s floodwaters have been blamed for at least one death.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Eta arrived at Cedar Key, Fla., At 4 p.m. Had a landfall at 50 mph with maximum sustained winds.
“It will continue to move rapidly north and east, with the possibility of rapid flooding on its way,” said Janice D, a senior meteorologist at Fox News on Fox & Friends. “Helping the cold front as well, so that not only for Florida, the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic, but rain and hurricanes, as this cold front moves forward.”
The tropical storm is moving as ETA targets Florida’s West Coast.
Eta’s second landfall in Florida and a fourth overall came after the Keys struck last week and brought heavy rain to South Florida. Eta briefly regained the strength of the hurricane on Wednesday morning, but hours later it weakened into a tropical storm.
Tropical Storm Eta can be seen moving around Florida on Thursday, November 12, 2020.
(NOAA / GOES-East)
At its strongest point, the storm was a Category 5 hurricane, as it erupted in Central America and Mexico, where it killed 120 people and left the rest of the scores missing.
Tropical Storm Eta is bringing heavy rain to North and Central Florida on Thursday, November 12, 2020.
(Fox News)
According to the NHC, Eta is now a weak tropical storm, moving rapidly northeast.
Forecast track of tropical storm Ata.
(Fox News)
The hurricanes, which passed through Florida and the Atlantic Ocean by Friday, are still at risk of heavy rain and strong winds, where they are expected to dissipate by the end of the week.
Flood advice in Florida from Tropical Storm Ata.
(Fox News)
“Different tornadoes are likely to be on the way to the hurricane, which is still a hurricane, a flash flood, a flash flooding,” Dean said Thursday. “By tomorrow it will be nice at sea which will be great news.”
Radar forecast of where the heavy rains will spread on Thursday.
(Fox News)
The hurricane hit 3.5 of the five coastal counties. Tampa Bay, with a population of more than a million, was swept away by wet rains and hurricanes in the Bay Area.
For the last 24 hours the radar has shown the rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Eta.
(Fox News)
No compulsory evacuation was ordered, but local authorities started shelters for anyone in need. Coastal areas were flooded following heavy rains and hurricanes, as the water level rose during high tides in the neighborhood.
On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, flooding was reported throughout the Tampa Bay metro area due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Ata.
(Pasco County Sheriff’s Office)
A man on Bradenton Beach was struck by lightning Wednesday night while passing through standing water in his home.
Police said the incident took place around 5 pm when the man was passing through standing water in the storage area of the house.
On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, flooding was reported throughout the Tampa Bay metro area due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Ata.
(Sarasota Police Department)
“We believe it was an electrical current in the residence, whether it was a downed power line or some kind of electricity from the home itself,” Jacob Surrey, a Manetti County public safety officer, told Fox 13. “Once we de-energized the house and managed to get a standing ovation and there was standing water in the house, we found the resident dead.”
Tropical Hurricane Ita reversed the Florida Straits, known as Lamborghini’s ‘submarine’
According to Fox 13, the firefighter sustained minor injuries while trying to reach the scene. Officials had to wait for the Florida Power and Light crew to turn off the electricity in the neighborhood.
Residents of a mobile home park were stranded in their homes on Thursday morning after flooded streets in St. Petersburg. Neighbors said they are in the habit of flooding the streets after heavy rains, but they have never seen this worse.
“My location is kind of on a hill,” resident Daniel Mills told Fox 13. “So, if it pops up on my porch, it’s definitely something dangerous and a fellow in my room actually called me and said the water reaches the last step of our porch.”
The FOX13 report said authorities were forced to close several bridges over three bridges crossing Tampa Bay following the hurricane.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting Pinelas and Manati County was also closed due to high winds that continued until Thursday morning on the Florida Highway Patrol. Tampa International Airport suspended operations Wednesday afternoon, with plans to reopen sometime on Thursday afternoon.
Several tornado warnings were issued as Eta moved closer to the coast, but there were no reports of one going down.
Click here for more heat coverage from Fox News
The forecast told school officials in Pascoe and Pinelas Counties, including St. Petersburg, to send students home as early as Wednesday. Both counties announced the schools would be closed Thursday, while neighboring Hillsborough County plans to keep the schools closed until Friday.
On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, after heavy rains from the tropical storm Eta, haphazard trees were reported in the Tampa Bay metro area.
(Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Fees)
Also in Tampa, the Bush Gardens theme park was announced to be closed on Wednesday, and many Veterans Day events in the area were canceled by the storm.
Governor of Florida. Ron Desantis declared them an extended emergency to include 13 counties along or near the Gulf Coast, to which they would be added to the South Florida counties. Dissenters also demanded an early emergency order from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for free resources to deal with the storm. President Trump approved the request Wednesday evening.
The tropical storm was the 28th hurricane of the busy Atlantic hurricane season, setting a record for hurricanes named 2005. And late Monday, it came after the 29th hurricane, Theta, located far in the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of miles from the Azores.
The Associated Press contributes to this report.
