According to the NHC, the amount of rainfall is likely to lead to fatal floods and landslides, as well as an increase in hurricane force winds, which will raise the water level by 2 to 4 feet along the normal coastline.
By Sunday afternoon or evening, tropical storm conditions are expected to begin in the South Florida and Florida Keys, where Eta is headed after trekking in Cuba on Sunday morning. It arrives in the Florida Keys on Sunday night so is expected to strengthen near hurricane levels.
By the end of Monday and by Tuesday, Eta will be in the Gulf of Mexico, the NHC said.
Hurricane Watch and Tropical Storm Warning are in effect for the South Florida and Florida Keys.
A tropical storm warning has also been issued for the Cayman Islands, parts of central Cuba and the northwestern Bahamas.
Latin America and the Caribbean prepare for damage
In Cuba, the country’s civil defense updated its warnings on Saturday and issued an “alarm phase” for some western and central regions.
On Saturday, Cuban President Miguel Daz-Kennel tweeted, “Against this, there is no time to waste and defense is a priority.”
In Mexico, the National Weather Service said Atana’s “widespread circulation is causing torrential rains in the Yucatan Peninsula and southeastern Mexico.” The rain is expected to continue on Monday, the service said, and will affect Chiapas, Osaka, Quintana Ru, Tabasco and Yucatટn states.
Lotas Obrador warned of a possible “emergency situation” in Tatasco as widespread flooding is expected from Ata, and said he was calling an emergency meeting of the security cabinet.
“We are talking about never-before-seen rainfall in the area,” Le Paz Obrador said in a video message posted on his official Fiscal Twitter account.
LaPaz Obrador said emergency preparations were underway to prevent destruction and loss of human life.
Eta Eyes South Florida
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis on Saturday declared a state of emergency for eight counties as Eta approached, according to Frederic Piccolo Jr., the governor’s communications director.
The governor declared a state of emergency in South Florida for Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties, “as a precaution,” Piccolo said. Counties include cities such as Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Key West.
Hurricane Wachch covers the coast of South Florida from Deerfield Beach to Bonita Bay and from the Ocean Reef to the Florida Keys, including the Florida Bay and the Florida Keys to the Dry Tortugas. Hurricane clock means hurricane conditions are possible in the next 48 hours.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect in South Florida, north of Golden Beach to Jupiter Inlet, and west of Chokolsky to Bonita Beach, which includes Lake Okichobi.
“The region has become saturated with recent heavy rains due to recent heavy rains and could be at risk of urban flash floods by the end of the week and early next week, depending on the pace of the storm’s advance,” said CNN meteorologist Derek van Dam Dam.
Flood watches are in effect in most parts of South Florida by Tuesday evening, where 6 to 10 inches of rain is possible.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez declared a state of emergency Friday as the county watches the storm. Gimenez said the ground has already been saturated since the days of the rainy conditions so “flooding is a big concern.”
In addition to heavy rainfall, Eta is likely to wreak havoc in coastal areas of Florida. A 2 to 3 foot storm is forecast from North Miami Beach to Marco Island, including Biscayne Bay and Keys. Hurricanes of 1 to 2 feet are forecast for the part from the Flagler / Volusia County Line on the east coast of Florida to North Miami Beach.
After passing Eta South Florida and the Keys, there is still uncertainty as to where the hurricane will move in the Gulf of Mexico. There are a handful of mid- and high-level atmospheric steering patterns that are responsible for Etana’s seemingly irregular forecast tracks. Because of all this steering, a change in Eta’s track or forward speed is likely to occur over the weekend.
CNN’s Alaa Ilasar, Melissa Alonso, Radina Gigova, Mallika Kalingaling, Janine Norman and Juan Paz contributed to the report.
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