Eta Getting Stronger, Could become Hurricane Again...

There appear to be no surprises with Tropical Storm Eta as it approaches Cuba tonight.  Max. winds are back to 60 mph and NHC has issued Hurricane watches for south Florida.  Satellite views are showing an asymmetrical storm that is "east side loaded due to SW upper wind shear.

The 4 pm NHC center line track has been consistent on each advisory.  Eta is moving very quickly to the NE at 16 mph, but is expected to slow down and turn back towards the Gulf on Sunday in response to an upper low over the western Gulf.

This afternoon's runs focus more on Tampa Bay/Sarasota for land fall instead of the panhandle like yesterday.  Regardless, the farther north the storm tracks, the more hostile the environment and NHC weakens Eta on days 4 & 5.  

The water vapor view shows all the dry air west of Eta.  In addition, there has been this feature over the northern Gulf with a persistent rain shield mainly offshore of the LA. coast.  So the question becomes...will the deep trough over the western states finally pick up Eta later this week, or will it bypass Eta leaving it lingering over the eastern Gulf?   There is nothing that indicates Eta will ever be a problem for us.

That deep upper air trough over the west has brought a little much needed rainfall to southern California with Los Angeles getting its first rain in over 100 days!  Note how chilly it is with 50s covering much of California.  On the flip side, the east & central states are very warm.

Finally, a week after the terrible ice storm in Oklahoma, my son Justin sends these pictures of some pretty Fall colors that linger.   Many trees lost their upper canopies under the weight of the ice, but not these two.

I may post tomorrow morning after we see what effect Cuba has on Eta.  Until then, enjoy Sunday getting ready for Brees vs Brady.  Go Saints!  Stay tuned!