(CNN) -
Eta has strengthened into a hurricane with sustained winds of 120 km / h.
Hurricane Eta is still expected to rapidly intensify over the next 18 hours to a strong Category 2 hurricane with 160 km / h winds.
The National Hurricane Center warns that it may be even stronger before making landfall.
It is expected to make landfall in Nicaragua between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Catastrophic effects of heavy rains, damaging winds, and storm surge will occur upon landfall.
Hurricane #Eta Advisory 7: Eta Becomes a Hurricane.
Life-Threatening Storm Surge, Damaging Winds, Flash Flooding, And Landslides Expected Across Portions of Central America.
https://t.co/VqHn0u1vgc
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- National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) November 2, 2020
All of Central America will be affected by the rains of Eta and Nicaragua and Honduras will register the most intense rainfall.
Eta is the 28th named storm of the 2020 active hurricane season and ties the record for the number of named storms in a single season set in 2005.
LEE
: Tropical storm Eta forms in the Caribbean and ties the season record with the most named storms
This is the first time the name Eta has been used for a storm.
The storms are named in alphabetical order, excluding names beginning with the letters Q, U, X, Y, or Z. In the event that a season is exceptionally busy and there are more than 21 named storms in a season, use the Greek alphabet.
Although 2005 had the same number of named storms, that year it fell short of the Eta name because the NHC increased the total to 28 after the season ended.
At the time it was decided that a storm should have been named, but it wasn't, according to Tyler Maudlin, a CNN meteorologist.
So technically, Eta never declared that season.
Hurricane Eta
