Eta downgraded to tropical storm again; Florida's west coast under storm surge warning

Tropical Storm Eta is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Gulf Coast early Thursday with heavy rainfall across west and central Florida and possible flash flooding in south Florida.

Eta was about 65 miles north-northwest of St. Petersburg, and moving north at 10 mph with top winds of 60 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 1 a.m. EST update. 

Eta became a Category 1 hurricane early Wednesday but was downgraded to a tropical storm by the afternoon, and the hurricane watch for portions of the west coast of Florida was discontinued.

"Almost as quickly as Eta regained hurricane status, it then lost it shortly thereafter," the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was expected to approach the west-central coast Wednesday evening and rapidly weaken as it moves inland over the northern portion of the Florida peninsula Thursday. Late Thursday and early Friday, Eta is expected to move northeastward into the western Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge along portions of the Florida Gulf Coast from Bonita Beach to Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor," the center said.

2020 hurricane season sets yet another record:2 Theta forms in the Atlantic

Eta made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday evening and left thousands of Floridians without power. The storm unleashed a deluge that flooded entire neighborhoods and filled some homes with rising water.

"Stay weather aware today South Florida, and have a way to receive warnings!" the National Weather Service Miami-South Florida said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Last week, it was unclear whether the storm would strike Louisiana, which has been hit by five tropical storms or hurricanes this year – an all-time record for the state. But the storm shifted eastward on Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center called the eastward shift "the biggest surprise" of the day's forecast.The 2020 hurricane season has been relentless and record-breaking.

Eta is the record-breaking 12th named tropical system to strike the continental U.S. this season and was the first tropical storm to make a November landfall in Florida since Mitch in 1998, according to Phil Klotzbach, a Colorado State University meteorologist. Hurricane Eta was also the latest calendar year hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since Kate in 1985, Klotzbach said.The record for named storms in a single season was broken early Tuesday morning with the formation of Subtropical Storm Theta far out in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Theta is the 29th named storm of 2020, breaking the record of 28 from 2005, the National Hurricane Center said. Theta transitioned to a "regular" tropical storm Tuesday afternoon.

The Hurricane Center said Theta poses no immediate threat to any land areas as it spins in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. According to AccuWeather, this is the latest in the calendar year that there were two storms swirling simultaneously in the Atlantic basin since Nov. 10, 1932.

Elsewhere, yet another system could evolve over the Caribbean late this week to this weekend, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. Hurricane season doesn't end until Nov. 30, although storms sometimes form after that date.