Hurricane experts were closely watching the Caribbean, where Tropical Storm Iota formed Friday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Iota could bring dangerous wind, storm surge and as much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall to northern Nicaragua and Honduras. The storm was located about 350 miles (560 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Iota is a record-setting 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Earlier, firefighters in Tampa had to rescue around a dozen people who got stuck in storm surge flooding on a boulevard adjacent to the bay.

One death in Florida was linked to the storm, along with some scattered flooding and forecasters said the tropical storm was on a path offshore of South Carolina that would eventually take it further out to sea. That came amid a combination of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico being carried up by a cold front that had pushed Eta across Florida earlier. Earlier Thursday, Eta was in the Gulf of Mexico when it slogged ashore near Cedar Key, Florida. Before that first brush with Florida, Eta first hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killed at least 120 people in Central America and Mexico, with scores more missing. A 29th named system, Tropical Storm Theta, was centered late Thursday about 440 miles (705 kilometers) south of the Azores and moving east.

Houston – After a record-breaking Thursday, temperatures hit 85 degrees at Bush Airport, unseasonably warm weather continues. FridayOur cool mornings and warmer than average afternoons will continue through the weekend. Missing Fall weather? Not to worry it is on the way for next week! A cold front on Sunday will usher in chilly mornings and mild afternoons.

HOUSTON – The storm is expected to weaken just slightly down to a strong tropical storm before making landfall somewhere between Cedar Key and Clearwater, Florida by this evening. It will bring heavy rain, wind and up to a 2-3 foot storm surge during high tide across central and NW Florida coastline. Eta is approaching the central Florida coastline this eveningEta will move across Florida tonight and tomorrowWe might be nearing the end of hurricane season but the tropics are still very busy! Tropical Storm Theta is churning in the north Atlantic heading towards Spain and Portugal and we will likely be looking at “Iota” over the next few days tracking in the Caribbean towards Central America. Busy TropicsTHETA marks the 29th named storm of the 2020 season breaking the record for the most named tropical systems in a hurricane season.

Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Davie, Fla. Tropical Storm Eta was squatting off western Cuba on Tuesday after drifting away from South Florida, where it unleashed a deluge that flooded entire neighborhoods and covered the floors of some homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Davie, Fla. Tropical Storm Eta was squatting off western Cuba on Tuesday after drifting away from South Florida, where it unleashed a deluge that flooded entire neighborhoods and covered the floors of some homes and businesses. Subsequently, a tropical storm warning was issued for the same general area. The storm has been in the Gulf of Mexico since crossing over South Florida on Sunday. Ron DeSantis issued an expanded emergency declaration to include 13 counties along or near the Gulf coast, adding them to South Florida counties.

Tropical Storm Eta is parked off the western coast of Cuba, dumping rain. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Theta — which formed overnight and broke a record as the 29th named Atlantic storm of the season — is chugging east toward Europe on the cusp of hurricane status. The system now has a 70% chance of becoming the 30th named storm. Never before have three named storms been twirling at the same time this late in the year, Klotzbach said. The overall message is that everyone in the area should pay attention to Eta, Brennan said.

A couple walks along the beach during a downpour, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, on Miami Beach, Florida's famed South Beach. A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. Eta made landfall in the Florida Keys and posed a serious threat across South Florida, which was already drenched from more than 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain last month. “Never seen this, never, not this deep,” said Anthony Lyas, who has lived in his now-waterlogged Fort Lauderdale neighborhood since 1996. Eta was not done yet with Cuba, just 90 miles (140 kilometers) south of Florida, where the storm continued to swell rivers and flood coastal zones. ___Associated Press writers Cody Jackson in Fort Lauderdale, Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, and Haleluya Hadero in Atlanta contributed to this report.

A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay. Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. On Sunday night, authorities in Lauderhill, Florida, responded to a report of a car that had driven into a canal. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low-lying areas.

Members of search and recovery teams search for survivors in the debris of a massive, rain-fueled landslide in the village of Queja, in Guatemala, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta. The storm was expected to hit Cuba by early Sunday, and approach the Florida Keys and south Florida late Sunday or Monday. Tropical storm warnings were issued for central Cuba, southern Florida and the Florida Keys. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. The storms’ threat comes as many streets across South Florida have been inundated by heavy rains and unusual King Tides.

A barefooted woman makes her way around debris brought on by a landslide on a road blocking traffic, in the aftermath of Hurricane Eta, in Purulha, northern Guatemala Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. In a news conference, President Alejandro Giammattei said he believed there were at least 100 dead there in San Cristobal Verapaz, but noted that was still unconfirmed. Her home in La Lima, a San Pedro Sula suburb, is 150 feet from the roiling Chamelecon river and only a short way from the international airport’s runway. It said rescues were happening Friday in San Pedro Sula and La Lima, but the need was great and resources limited. The U.S. State Department said in a statement Friday that four U.S. helicopters from the Soto Cano Air Base near Tegucigalpa had flown to San Pedro Sula to participate in rescue operations.

Location 85 miles SE of Wilmington North Carolina Wind 45 mph Heading ENE at 21 mph Pressure 29.65 Coordinates 76.8W, 33.3NDiscussionAt 400 AM EST (0900 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Eta was located near latitude 33.3 North, longitude 76.8 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the east-northeast near 21 mph (33 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue with an increase in forward speed through Saturday. On the forecast track, Eta is expected to gradually pull away from the southeast U.S. Coast today. Eta could intensify a little as an non-tropical cyclone during the next day or so before it becomes absorbed by a larger non-tropical cyclone on Saturday or Saturday night. Tropics Models at 8:10 Friday Morning, November 13thLand HazardsSURF: Swells generated by Eta will affect portions of the southeastern United States coast today.