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November 4, 2020 - Tropical Storm Eta
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The leading edge of the massive eyewall of Hurricane Eta was moving over the Nicaraguan coast on November 3, 2020, as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), at 1:00 p.m. EST (1800 UTC) Eta was moving onshore along the coast of northeastern Nicaragua, bringing life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and flash flooding. At that time, the center of Hurricane Eta was 20 miles (35 km) south southeast of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua as the storm packed 140 mph (220 mph) one-minute sustained winds. The makes Hurricane Eta a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale at landfall. The NHC’s description of a Category 4 storm reads “Catastrophic damage will occur: Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
At the 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 UTC) advisory, Eta continued to crawl over the coast, moving west only 5 mph (7 km/h). At that time, the storm’s center was 15 mi (25 km) south-southwest of Puerto Cabezas and had maintained Category 4 status. Early reports suggest that power outages are widespread, many electrical poles have fallen, widespread flooding, and some buildings had lost roofs in Puerto Cabezas. Flooding was also reported in Honduras and Costa Rica. An update by the NHC at 7:00 p.m. EST (0000 UTC) reports that maximum sustained winds had dropped to 110 mph (175 km/h) as the storm’s center reached 25 mi (40 km) southwest of Puerto Cabezas. 100 mph (175 km) brings it to a strong Category 2 storm.
Hurricane Eta is expected to weaken as it moves westward or north-westward through the morning of November 5, crossing central Honduras. After that time, Eta should make a turn to the north-northeast to emerge over the northwestern Caribbean Sea by November 6. As it continues to move to the northeast, Eta is forecast to regain tropical storm strength as it passes over Cuba and approaches southern Florida on November 7-8.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 11/3/2020
Resolutions:
1km (498.3 KB), 500m (1.5 MB), 250m (4.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The leading edge of the massive eyewall of Hurricane Eta was moving over the Nicaraguan coast on November 3, 2020, as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), at 1:00 p.m. EST (1800 UTC) Eta was moving onshore along the coast of northeastern Nicaragua, bringing life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and flash flooding. At that time, the center of Hurricane Eta was 20 miles (35 km) south southeast of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua as the storm packed 140 mph (220 mph) one-minute sustained winds. The makes Hurricane Eta a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale at landfall. The NHC’s description of a Category 4 storm reads “Catastrophic damage will occur: Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
At the 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 UTC) advisory, Eta continued to crawl over the coast, moving west only 5 mph (7 km/h). At that time, the storm’s center was 15 mi (25 km) south-southwest of Puerto Cabezas and had maintained Category 4 status. Early reports suggest that power outages are widespread, many electrical poles have fallen, widespread flooding, and some buildings had lost roofs in Puerto Cabezas. Flooding was also reported in Honduras and Costa Rica. An update by the NHC at 7:00 p.m. EST (0000 UTC) reports that maximum sustained winds had dropped to 110 mph (175 km/h) as the storm’s center reached 25 mi (40 km) southwest of Puerto Cabezas. 100 mph (175 km) brings it to a strong Category 2 storm.
Hurricane Eta is expected to weaken as it moves westward or north-westward through the morning of November 5, crossing central Honduras. After that time, Eta should make a turn to the north-northeast to emerge over the northwestern Caribbean Sea by November 6. As it continues to move to the northeast, Eta is forecast to regain tropical storm strength as it passes over Cuba and approaches southern Florida on November 7-8.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 11/3/2020
Resolutions:
1km (498.3 KB), 500m (1.5 MB), 250m (4.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
