Eye on the Tropics

Hurricane Eta: Category 4 storm making landfall in Nicaragua, system forecast to near Florida this weekend

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Eta is making landfall in Nicaragua. Life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, flash flooding and landslides are expected across portions of Central America.

The storm made landfall in the area as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday evening.

4 p.m. update

Category 4 storm making landfall in Nicaragua, forecast to track near Florida this weekend

Hurricane Eta is making landfall now in Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm.

After making landfall, forecasts show it weakening while it moves over land before entering the Caribbean and re-strengthening.

Channel 9 chief meteorologist Tom Terry said while there are several days to go, the trends in the models keep Eta very close to Florida from the weekend through early next week possibly as a tropical storm.

Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for the latest forecast updates.

10 a.m. update

Hurricane Eta inches closer to Nicaragua

Eta continues to inch closer to the coast of northeastern Nicaragua.

The center of Eta is expected to make landfall along the coast of Nicaragua Tuesday.

The Category 4 hurricane is still packing 145 mph winds. It has weakened slightly as it gets closer to land.

5 a.m. update

‘Extremely dangerous’ Category 4 storm nears Nicaragua

Eta is forecast to move father inland over norther Nicaragua through Wednesday morning and across central portions of Honduras by Thursday morning.

The storms sustained winds are at 150 mph. Forecasters said there is a small chance the storm could strengthen before it makes landfall.

Forecasters said Eta will continue to weaken after its center moves inland.

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The National Weather Center said the storm is “extremely dangerous."

It will begin to weaken after the center moves inland Tuesday morning.

The storm surpassed Delta for the strongest Greek alphabet-named Atlantic hurricane on record.

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Katlyn Brieskorn, WFTV.com

Katlyn Brieskorn is a Digital Assignment Editor at WFTV. She joined Channel 9 in July 2019.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.