After bringing devastation to coastal areas of Central America, Hurricane Eta weakened to a Tropical Storm and headed toward Cuba. Crossing that island nation, the storm's counterclockwise winds brought torrential rain and storm surge to Southern Florida; some areas of Metro Miami received 1.5 feet of rain.
Following another landfall in the western Keys, Eta has entered the Gulf of Mexico, churning slowly to the WSW. Some models suggest the storm will turn back to the northeast, striking the Great Bend region of Florida, while others indicate it will head north, making a fourth landfall along the northern Gulf Coast.
Of course, Eta does not have a mind of her own. Her wandering course has been determined by high pressure domes and atmospheric troughs, steering her back and forth across the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The next impact on her course will likely come from a potent cold front that brought four inches of snow to Metro Denver yesterday and is now spreading snow and thunderstorms across the Northern Plains. If the front drops far enough south, it will sweep Eta to the northeast or east; if not, the tropical storm may hang out in the Gulf of Mexico, potentially strengthening into a hurricane once again or simply fizzling out. We may not know for a few more days.
