Manatee no longer under tropical storm warning. But that could change later in the week
Manatee County is no longer under a tropical storm warning, but that could change in the days ahead depending the track Tropical Storm Eta takes.
As of 1 p.m., Tropical Storm Eta was located about 135 miles west-southwest of Dry Tortugas and headed to the southwest at 16 mph. Eta’s sustained winds dropped to 50 mph, but the storm was expected to strengthen in the next day or so.
Eta is not expected to move much Tuesday as it churns in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico until Wednesday, when the storm is expected to begin slowly moving north. The hurricane center said it has “low confidence” in its predictions for Eta’s track as the storm makes it’s trek north.
Hurricane center forecasters dropped all watches and warnings for the southern half of the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys, according to the latest public advisory.
The Manatee County Emergency Operations Center is partially activated, but the county commission will consider whether to declare a full state of emergency during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, according to Public Safety Director Jacob Saur.
The county is preparing and expecting that watches and warning will again go up in Manatee County.
Out at the Coquina Beach Cafe, most employees were told to stay home as management was stacking and storing tables and chairs.
“We have to do our best to keep the property safe, keep people who may be out here sasfe,” manager Susan O’Neill said.
Since Hurricane Irma in September 2017, the county has installed hurricane shutters and added storage to the facility, which was making storm preparations easier, O’Neill explained. Further north on Manatee Beach Public Beach, Anna Maria Island Beach Cafe was open for business.
Set-up for the World’s Strongest Man competition also continued on Manatee Public Beach on Monday morning. Postponed already once this year because of the coronavirus, the event is scheduled to be held beginning Wednesday through Sunday. But because of the pandemic, spectators have been banned and fencing with black netting was already setup up to the north and south of where events will take place.
Monday’s windy conditions and on-and-off rain kept most beach-goers away on Monday. Most out on the beach were taking walks.
Eta made landfall at 11 p.m. Sunday on Lower Matecumbe Key in the Florida Keys with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties experienced gusty winds, heavy downpours and remained under flash flood warnings on Monday morning.
The local forecast should see a break from storm conditions going into Tuesday before Eta is expected to begin heading north, according to the National Weather Service. High winds because of Eta shutdown the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay on Monday morning.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 8:17 AM.
