Tropical storm Eta was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday morning, and Florida's west coast was under a hurricane watch.
Eta was about 145 miles south-southwest of Tampa and moving north-northeast at 10 mph with top winds of 75 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 a.m. ET update.
The storm is expected to move closer to the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday and approach the west-central coast Wednesday evening at near-hurricane strength, rapidly weakening 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.
Hurricane-force winds were possible along portions of the west coast of Florida, and heavy rainfall from Eta is expected to continue across South Florida and spread northward across portions of west and north Florida today through Friday.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of western Florida until 5 p.m. Wednesday, and a storm surge warning had been issued for the Florida west coast.
"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. Residents in this area should follow any advice given by local officials," the National Hurricane Center said.
Eta unleashed a deluge over the past few days in South Florida 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.
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 is 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.
Hurricane Eta track
Contributing: Doyle Rice; Cheryl McCloud, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Eta becomes Category 1; Florida west coast under watch