After devastating Central America, the tropical depression formerly known as Hurricane Eta is projected to reach southernmost Florida as a tropical storm early Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical storm watches were issued late Friday for all of southern Florida. The warnings run from Bonita Beach on the west coast to Lake Okeechobee to Jupiter Inlet on the east coast and then all the way south through the Florida Keys.
Eta departed the mountains of Central America and re-entered the Caribbean Sea’s warm waters, according to the hurricane center’s midnight Saturday advisory. Eta was located 310 miles southwest of Grand Cayman, moving northeast at 10 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
It is expected to reach tropical storm strength by Saturday morning and generate wind speeds of nearly 65 mph by Sunday night — just 10 mph below Category 1 hurricane strength.
The projected path for Tropical Storm Eta shows it passing the Cayman Islands on Saturday and nearing Cuba that night. It’s then expected to approach the Florida Keys late Sunday or early Monday. After making landfall in the Keys, Eta could move up Florida’s southwestern coast before turning west into the Gulf of Mexico.
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