Hurricane Eta was a deadly and erratic tropical cyclone that devastated parts of Central America in early November 2020. The record-tying twenty-eighth named storm, thirteenth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Eta originated from a vigorous tropical wave in the eastern Caribbean Sea on October 31. The system rapidly organized as it progressed west, with the cyclone ultimately becoming a Category 4 hurricane on November 3. With a peak intensity of 150 mph (240 km/h) and 922 millibars (922 hPa; 27.2 inHg), it was the third most intense November Atlantic hurricane on record, behind the 1932 Cuba hurricane and Hurricane Iota, the latter of which formed just two weeks later in the same area. Some weakening took place as the system made landfall near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, late that same day. Eta rapidly weakened to a tropical depression and briefly degenerated to a remnant low as it meandered across Central America for two days, before regenerating into a tropical depression and moving north over water. The storm later reorganized over the Caribbean as it accelerated toward Cuba on November 7, making a second landfall on the next day. Over the next five days, the system moved erratically, making a third landfall in the Florida Keys, on November 9, before slowing down and making a counterclockwise loop in the southern Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Cuba, with the storm's intensity fluctuating along the way. After briefly regaining hurricane strength on November 11, the system weakened back to a tropical storm once more, before making a fourth landfall on Florida on the next day, and proceeding to accelerate northeastward. Eta subsequently became extratropical on November 13, before dissipating off the coast of the Eastern United States on the next day.
Hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings were issued along the coast of Honduras and Northeastern Nicaragua as Eta approached. Once inland, Eta produced torrential rainfall and catastrophic wind, flood and storm surge damage across Central America. Eta was responsible for at least 175 deaths and over 100 others missing, and an estimated $8.3 billion (2020 USD) in storm related damages—primarily in Central America—were reported as of December 2020. Once the system began to reorganize in the Caribbean, tropical storm watches were issued on November 5, in the Cayman Islands. More watches were issued in parts of Cuba, the northwestern Bahamas, and South Florida. Eta brought heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the Cayman Islands and Cuba, the latter of which was already dealing with overflowing rivers that prompted evacuations. Heavy rainfall and tropical-storm force winds were recorded across all of the Florida Keys, South Florida and the southern half of Central Florida, bringing widespread flooding. Eta's second approach and landfall brought storm surge and gusty winds to the west coast of Central Florida and supplemental rainfall to northern Florida. Moisture from the storm also combined with a cold front further to the north bringing heavy rainfall and flash flooding to the Carolinas and Virginia.
Relief efforts for those affected by the storm were extensive and widespread, involving several countries. Central America was already facing a humanitarian crisis which was further impacted by Hurricane Eta. Approximately 2.5 million were affected by the storm, including 1.7 million in Honduras. Many Emergency Response Units were to be dispatched globally to help support affected people. About 98 tons of food and water were given to Nicaragua and Honduras from Panama. People left homeless were moved to various shelters after the storm had passed. Donations worth millions of USD have been given to affected countries to help recoveries. Two weeks after Eta, relief efforts were greatly hampered by Hurricane Iota, which further worsened the disaster in the region.
Meteorological history
Eta developed from a tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa around October 22. The system slowly moved westward across the tropical Atlantic, accompanied by a large area of disorganized cloudiness, showers, and thunderstorms. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring the disturbance for potential development into a tropical cyclone on October 29, as it moved across the Lesser Antilles and into the eastern Caribbean Sea. On October 30, the disturbance moved west-northwestward and gradually became better organized. This allowed for deep convection to become more consolidated going into October 31. By 18:00 UTC on that day, the system's deep convection had consolidated and a low-level circulation had become sufficiently well-defined, marking the formation of Tropical Depression Twenty-Nine centered about 105 mi (169 km) south of Pedernales, Dominican Republic. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Eta by 00:00 UTC on November 1, becoming the earliest 28th tropical or subtropical storm on record in an Atlantic hurricane season, surpassing the old mark of December 30, set by Tropical Storm Zeta in 2005.
Steered westward by a low-to-mid-level ridge that extended from the subtropical Atlantic southwestward to Cuba and The Bahamas, Eta slowly organized throughout the day as a central dense overcast began to form atop its low-level center. Surrounded by an environment of low vertical shear and high sea surface temperatures, Eta began to explosively intensify on November 2. It became a hurricane by 06:00 UTC that day, while located about 310 mi (500 km) south of Grand Cayman. Nine hours later, it strengthened into a high-end Category 2 hurricane as a small pinhole eye became apparent in visible satellite imagery. Its sustained winds increased to Category 4 intensity by 18:00 UTC that day, an increase of 50 mph (80 km/h) in about 12 hours. Eta's maximum sustained winds peaked at 150 mph (240 km/h) at 00:00 UTC on November 3; at the same time, the storm had a central pressure of 929 mbar (27.4 inHg). Eta then begun to slow down and turn southwestward in response to a mid-level ridge over the western Gulf of Mexico and Mexico. Even so, its maximum sustained winds remained unchanged through 06:00 UTC, during which time its minimum pressure fell to 922 mbar (27.2 inHg), with the storm reaching its peak intensity. The Washington Post reported that several meteorologists believed that Eta peaked as a Category 5 hurricane based on satellite imagery estimates, as well as a lack of aircraft observations due to several mechanical issues; however, in their post-season report, the NHC determined that Eta peaked as a 150 mph (240 km/h)-Category 4 hurricane. Despite remaining in a very favorable environment, Eta began to weaken soon thereafter, due to an eyewall replacement cycle. After drifting just offshore of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua for several hours on November 3, the hurricane made landfall just as it completed its eyewall replacement cycle at 21:00 UTC about 15 mi (24 km) south-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h). A storm surge of 26–33 feet (7.9–10.1 m) was reported at landfall. Once inland, the hurricane rapidly weakened as it moved slowly westward over northern Nicaragua, diminishing to Category 2 intensity three hours after landfall, and to a tropical storm by 12:00 UTC on November 4. Twelve hours later, around 00:00 UTC on November 5, Eta weakened to a tropical depression while its center was located about 80 mi (130 km) east of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. By 06:00 UTC that morning, the storm degenerated into a remnant low, though it maintained its low-level vorticity maximum. Operationally, the NHC continued issuing advisories on "Tropical Depression Eta" due to uncertainties about whether or not the surface circulation had dissipated.
The remnants of Eta emerged into the Gulf of Honduras around 00:00 UTC on November 6, and then, six hours later, regenerated into a tropical depression east of Belize, due to the steering influence of a developing mid- to upper-level trough over the Gulf of Mexico. The system re-strengthened into a tropical storm by 00:00 UTC on November 7 and accelerated east-northeastward later that day. Despite the effects of southwesterly vertical wind shear and upper-level dry air approaching the inner core from the west, the storm attained an intensity of 65 mph (105 km/h) at 00:00 UTC on November. It then moved counterclockwise along the periphery of a broad deep-layer cyclonic circulation. This movement took Eta across the southern coast of Cuba, about 30 mi (48 km) south-southeast of Sancti Spíritus, at 09:00 UTC on November 8, with winds of 65 mph (105 km/h). It emerged off the north coast of Cuba into the Straits of Florida six hours later. There, it began to re-strengthen again, and briefly gained a mid-level eye feature, as it turned sharply northwestward around the northeastern side of an upper-level low that had formed over the extreme northwestern Caribbean Sea near the Isle of Youth.
The storm continued to move along this course through early on November 9. Eta made its third landfall around 04:00 UTC that morning near Lower Matecumbe Key in the Florida Keys with sustained winds of near 65 mph (105 km/h), and then moved westward into the Gulf of Mexico. Eta then turned southwestward under the influence of a strong deep-layer ridge across the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and near the East Coast of the U.S. Its overall appearance in satellite imagery from that morning was fragmented, with inner-core convection having become shallow and broken due to dry air. This caused the storm to weaken and its radius of gale-force winds to shrink. It made a cyclonic loop to the north of the western tip of Cuba on November 10, with little change in strength. It then moved northward on November 11, briefly regaining hurricane intensity around 12:00 UTC, and simultaneously reaching its second peak intensity with sustained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 983 mbar (29.0 inHg). The eye feature quickly dissipated, weakening Eta back to a tropical storm six hours later, when its center was located about 115 mi (185 km) south-southwest of Tarpon Springs, Florida. It then turned north-northeastward and made a final landfall near Cedar Key, Florida at 09:00 UTC on November 12, with sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h). The storm further degraded and weakened over land as it accelerated northeastward, eventually emerging over the waters of the Atlantic near the Florida–Georgia border at 18:00 UTC that same day. The system regained some of its lost intensity once back over water and it accelerated east-northeastward as it began its extratropical transition. By 09:00 UTC on November 13, while located near the coast of the Carolinas, it became an extratropical low. On the next day, Eta was absorbed by another frontal system to the north.
Preparations
Central America
Early on November 1, the governments of Honduras and Nicaragua issued Hurricane Watches and Warnings for the northeastern coast of Honduras from Punta Patuca to the Honduras–Nicaragua border and the northeastern coast of Nicaragua from the Honduras–Nicaragua border to Puerto Cabezas, respectively. Later that day, a hurricane warning was issued from the Honduras–Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi while a tropical storm warning was issued for areas from Punta Patuca to the Honduras–Nicaragua border. A tropical storm watch was also issued from west of Punta Patuca westward to Punta Castilla late that same day.
Nicaragua
With the threat of 14–21 feet (4.3–6.4 m) of storm surge along the coastline, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega issued a yellow alert for the departments of Jinotega, Nueva Segovia, and the North Caribbean Autonomous Region on October 31, which were upgraded to a red alert by November 2. Residents in coastal communities were advised to evacuate as supplies, including 88 tons of food, sleeping bags, hygiene kits, and plastic, were delivered to Puerto Cabezas according Nicaragua's National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disaster. The Nicaraguan Navy helped evacuate more than 3,000 families from offshore islands to Puerto Cabezas as residents in the city waited in long lines to access cash machines while getting supplies. Just before the storm's arrival, the Nicaraguan Army moved its Humanitarian and SAR Unit (Unidad Humanitaria y de Rescate - UHR in Spanish) to Puerto Cabezas, to help in search and rescue efforts that would occur due to Eta. More than 10,000 people sought refuge at shelters in Puerto Cabezas and surrounding villages.
Honduras
A red alert was placed for Honduran departments of Gracias a Dios, Colón, Atlántida, Islas de la Bahía, and Olancho while a yellow alert was declared for Santa Bárbara, Francisco Morazán, Comayagua, El Paraíso, Yoro, and Cortés. A green alert was issued for Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, Intibucá, La Paz, Valle, and Choluteca. The Honduran Air Force prepared two planes to send 4,000 pounds of food to La Mosquitia, Gracias a Dios. The National Police of Honduras was tasked to advise passengers of roadways blocked by a landslide or flooding. More than 20,000 pounds of food was stored at the Offices of Risk Management and National Contingencies in San Pedro Sula, ahead of the storm. The national "feriado morazánico" holiday was also canceled.
El Salvador
The Civil Protection Directorate of El Salvador evacuated residents in Tecoluca after setting up 1,152 shelters across the country. The Autonomous Executive Port Commission considered temporarily closing the El Salvador International Airport due to Eta. The Executive Hydroelectric Commission of the Lempa River cleared pipes to prevent flooding in communities along the river.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica's National Meteorological Institute forecast widespread rainfall in association with the outer bands of Eta, primarily along the Pacific coastline. With flooding beginning during the overnight hours of November 2, the National Emergency Commission (NCE) established multiple shelters for evacuees. The agency planned to set up three types of shelters due to the COVID-19 pandemic: infected persons, suspected infected persons, and non-infected persons. Landslides were expected in many areas due to saturated soils.
Panama
Although not in the direct path of Eta, the fringe effects of the hurricane were expected to cause disruptions in Panama. Seagoing vessels were alerted to dangerous swells in Caribbean waters along with wind gusts up to 37 mph (60 km/h). The Ministry of Public Works advised residents to stay vigilant for possible flooding and landslides. MPO road crews were dispatched to ensure highways remained clear for travel.
Belize
As flooding was a major threat because of heavy rainfalls, a flood warning was issued for all of Belize in preparation for Eta as the National Emergency Management Organization urged residents to evacuate.
Caribbean
Cayman Islands
As the projected path for Eta showed the system coming close to Grand Cayman, a tropical storm watch and a flood warning were put into effect for Grand Cayman and all islands of the Cayman Islands on November 5. The watch became tropical storm warning the following day as Tropical Storm Eta moved closer. Government schools were closed in the islands, as were ports in George Town, Grand Cayman and Creek, Creek, Cayman Brac.
Cuba
On November 6, the Government of Cuba issued a tropical storm watch for the provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, La Habana, Havana, Pinar del Rio, and the Isle of Youth. Later that day, these were upgraded to tropical storm warnings in some provinces.