Eta expected to bring wind, rain to Bradenton
After wreaking havoc as a hurricane in Central America, the latest National Weather Service says Eta may have a small impact on the Bradenton area.
Eta first made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and has since downgraded to a tropical depression, but the storm is headed toward Florida and the NWS expects it to strengthen into a tropical storm Friday evening.
The forecast also predicts Eta will travel over Cuba before turning west and out into the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday morning. According to NWS, Manatee County could see tropical-storm-force winds by Monday night.
“Tropical storm conditions are possible in the southeast Gulf, including the Straits of Florida, Sunday through Tuesday, spreading northward across the eastern Gulf Sunday night through Tuesday,” forecasters wrote in a Friday update.
While the storm is projected to make a turn toward the Gulf near South Florida, Eta is expected to produce rain and strong winds in the Bradenton area as soon as Saturday.
The NWS says to expect a 40 percent chance of rain throughout the weekend, as well as increasingly strong winds through Tuesday.
As of Friday’s update, Eta is not currently expected to strengthen into a hurricane within the next five days.
Daily forecast in Bradenton
A high of 85 degrees is expected on Saturday, with a 30 percent chance of rain after 2 p.m. That chance of rain remains until about 8 p.m., with a low of 72 degrees. The NWS says it’ll be a windy day thanks to a northeast wind and gusts as high as 26 mph.
Sunday’s forecast is a 40 percent chance of rain throughout the day, as well as a high of 83 and a low of 72. Sunday is slightly windier, forecasters predict, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
The wind gets even stronger on Monday, as Eta travels north in the Gulf toward the Bradenton area. Wind gusts are expected to reach 45 mph. The NWS expects a 40 percent chance of rain throughout the day along with a high in the mid-80s and a low in the mid-70s.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 1:43 PM.
