Tropical Storm Eta forms in Atlantic Ocean, ties record for most named storms in a single season
With a full month left in the hurricane season, 2020 has already tied the record for the most named storms as Tropical Storm Eta strengthens in the Atlantic.
Eta, the 28th named storm, formed late Saturday and is swirling with winds up to 40 mph about 225 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, as of the National Hurricane Center’s 10 a.m. update.
A hurricane warning is in effect along the Honduras/Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi. Honduras has also issued a tropical storm warning from Punta Patuca to the border.
Current projections show the storm strengthening to a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall in Nicaragua early Tuesday.
Heavy rainfall, up to 35 inches, is expected in central and northern Nicaragua, Honduras, eastern Guatemala, southern Belize, Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Cayman Islands.
Storm surges as high as six to nine feet are possible along the coast of Nicaragua.
This is the first time the Greek letter “Eta” has ever been used to name a storm; in 2005, the last time there were 28 storms, the NHC retroactively decided that one of the missed storms should have been named.
