Eta on the edge of regaining Tropical Storm Strength near the Cayman Islands. Nov. 7, 2020. The storm is expected to bring rain and high wind to Key Biscayne starting late Sunday. (NOAA via KBI)
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Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say Eta has regained tropical storm status is moving a bit more slowly, but is still forecast to bring very heavy rain and high winds to Key Biscayne and Miami starting late Sunday into Monday.
At 10 a.m, Eastern Time, the center of Eta was about 45 miles west southwest of Grand Cayman. The hurricane center upgraded its advisories to a formal Tropical Storm Warning. Maximum sustained winds were put at 40 miles-per-hour.
Hurricane Specialist Jack Beven said that Eta had reformed a bit to the northeast of its previous center, and the forecast track has shifted a bit to the north. “There remains some spread in the guidance in just where these turns will occur and how close the center will come to south Florida and the Florida Keys,” after Eta makes landfall in Cuba, Beven wrote in the 10 a.m. advisory
Winds are forecast to eventually reach 65 miles-per-hour.
The Hurricane Center’s forecast calls for up to ten inches of rain to soak the area, with a storm surge of 2-3 feet in Biscayne Bay.
The Village of Key Biscayne has set up a sandbag distribution site at Beach park near the Beach Club on a first-come, first-served basis. Flooding is expected to be worst at high tide — Sunday, that comes at 2:38 pm and again on Monday at 2:57 am and 3:30 pm.
Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.