MIAMI — Eta's zigzagging track is now set to send the storm whirling across the Florida Keys on Monday, flinging high winds and heavy rains over half the state and raising concerns of flooding in an already waterlogged South Florida.
The tropical depression spent most of Friday creeping across the warm Caribbean waters and forecasters expect it to regain tropical storm strength and grow big enough that South Florida could start feeling tropical-storm-force winds and drenching rain by Sunday. As it passes, it could drop 10 to 15 inches of rain as far north as Fort Lauderdale and push a foot of storm surge from Naples to Jupiter.
The weather service put the southeast coast — from the Everglades to West Palm Beach — under a flood watch until Tuesday and warned of a possible "long duration flooding event."
It's not yet clear if South Florida public schools will be canceled Monday. Miami-Dade and Broward hadn't decided yet, and Monroe said it will make the call Saturday. Some cities, including Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, began distributing free sandbags to help residents prepare for the storm.
Even as Eta inched away from Central America on Friday, it continued to drench the devastated region. Since Eta hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday, the death toll has grown to at least 57 deaths and aid workers warned the flooding and mudslides were creating "a slow-moving humanitarian disaster across the region."
The Cayman Islands, which Eta is set to approach on Saturday, and most of Cuba, which Eta is expected to cross on Sunday night, were under tropical storm watches and warnings. Additional watches and warnings may be issued for the Florida Keys and South Florida later Friday.
Forecasters said dry air and a path over Cuba on Sunday should prevent Eta from strengthening to a hurricane, although the maximum predicted wind speed of 65 mph is just 10 mph below a Category 1 storm.
Wind-wise, the hurricane center continued to up South Florida's chances of experiencing tropical-storm-force winds, meaning winds stronger than 39 mph. As of 4 a.m., the hurricane center said the chances were highest in Marathon on Tuesday at 45%, with Key West close behind at 41%. Miami and Homestead's chances have crept down from about 29% to about 26%, the hurricane center said.
In Miami, those high winds could kick off around 11 p.m. Sunday and last until 11 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service, with a peak around 6 a.m. Monday at 48 mph sustained winds, with gusts as high as 63 mph.
Boat traffic on the Miami River will have to halt as Tropical Storm Eta approaches. Miami-Dade announced Friday afternoon the U.S. Coast Guard expects to lock down bridges by Sunday, meaning they won't be opening for vessels. Miami-Dade and the state Transportation Department plan to begin the lock down process at 6 a.m. Sunday, and a release states "all mariners must seek safe harbor" before then.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that discharges from Lake Okeechobee to estuaries on the east and west will continue to maintain the water at safe levels as up to 10 inches of rain are expected around the lake area. Lake Okeechobee is already bloated at 16 feet, increasing risks to the Herbert Hoover Dike and communities around the lake, said Col. Andrew Kelly, the Corps commander for Florida.
In Key West, many locals Friday were preparing for at least strong winds and heavy rains.
The crew of the Schooner America 2.0, docked at the Key West Historic Seaport, on Friday started pulling sails and striking booms and gaffs to deck, said Jim Strebeck, one of the yacht's captains.
They had to reschedule a number of passengers booked for sailing trips over the next few days.
"We got a call from our boss in New York who said, go ahead and start making preparations today," Strebeck said. "We were all very happy to get the news we would be able to do this today before the weather started to roll in."
Strebeck said he's certainly paying attention to the forecasts.
"We're all just here trying to prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Strebeck said.
In 2017, he and his wife lost the boat they had been living on to Category 4 Hurricane Irma. "We spent several years restoring it," Strebeck said.
Other locals had started their pre-storm routines while trying to stay positive.
"Key West has been blessed this year," said Sonja Miller, who has had a home on the island for more than four years. "Knock on all the wood on this island that hasn't been inhabited by termites."
Miller and her husband, Scott Miller, have been moving outdoor furniture indoors, put on the wooden house shutters and topped off the propane tank.
"We're just expecting rains and strong winds to move through pretty quickly," Sonja Miller said Friday afternoon. "If it increases to a hurricane we'll actually put hurricane shutters on."
