Is the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season saving its most intense storm for last? Hurricane season is winding down in fewer than four weeks, but that didn't deter Hurricane Eta from becoming one of the strongest tropical cyclones of 2020. Nearly 25 weeks after Tropical Storm Arthur began the elongated 2020 tropical season, Eta's eyewall began pushing ashore just after noon on Tuesday, and the storm had been blamed for at least one fatality. Two men walk around the perimeters of a home surrounded by floodwaters brought on by Hurricane Eta in Wawa, Nicaragua, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Carlos Herrera) Eta's slow track toward the Nicaragua coast on Tuesday also meant increased coastal impacts as the outer bands of the storm lashed marshy areas on the outskirts of the country. Some residential areas, many of which consist of poorly-constructed adobe homes, had been taking a pounding from the storm since Monday. The rapid ramp-up from tropical storm strength to Category 4 wind speeds in 24 hours gave residents of Central America little time to prepare for what would eventually tie the season's strongest storm -- Hurricane Laura -- at its peak. Although Eta weakened slightly before landfall, the hurricane was whipping maximum sustained winds of 150 mph at its peak, just shy of Category 5 classification (winds of 157 mph or greater). It made landfall at about 4 p.m., local, time on Tuesday south of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, with 140-mph sustained winds. After landfall Eta downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane. As of 10 p.m. EST Tuesday, Eta was packing 105 mph maximum sustained winds approximately 45 miles west-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua moving west at 6 mph. At 1 a.m. EST Wednesday, Eta was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. The hurricane was about 70 miles west-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, and still moving west at 6 mph. A mudslide triggered by Eta's downpours claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl in San Pedro Sula, the main population center in northern Honduras, said Marvin Aparicio, director of the national system of incident commands for Honduras' emergency management agency, The Associated Press reported. On Monday, the Nicaragua government prepared by evacuating approximately 3,000 coastal families from their homes and sent supplies to help residents prepare for the storm's impact, Vice President Rosario Murillo reported, according to The Associated Press. Javier Plat, a local Catholic priest in Puerto Cabezas, told Reuters on Monday that there was already a citywide power outage and that evacuation shelters had reached capacity. "This city of 70,000 people is very vulnerable," Plat said. "We have houses made of wood and adobe, the infrastructure of the residential houses is our main vulnerability." Video emerged of emergency personnel saving a woman after waist-deep floodwaters trapped her in a home. Many other families were rescued from their flooded homes, according to officials. On Twitter, the National Police of Honduras shared videos of flood rescues and areas of landslide risks on Tuesday. Police officers in Honduras help a woman to safety as floodwaters from Hurricane Eta's rains inundated the region on Monday, Nov. 2, before the storm had even made landfall. (Policía Nacional de Honduras) Eta's eye hovered just offshore through Monday night into Tuesday morning causing winds to uproot trees and rip roofs off of houses, scattering debris through the streets of the coastal city of Bilwi, Nicaragua, The Associated Press reported. The eye of dangerous major Hurricane Eta became less noticeable on satellite images as it churned just offshore of Nicaragua on Tuesday morning, Nov. 3, 2020. (CIRA at Colorado State/GOES-East) There were reports of corrugated metal roofs flying off homes, trees, poles and power lines falling and rivers rising in the coastal area, Guillermo González, director of the country's emergency management agency, said in a news conference, according to CBS News. About 10,000 people were in shelters in Bilwi and an equal number in smaller towns across the region, González said. Nicaragua's navy spent Monday ferrying residents of coastal islands to shelters in Bilwi, according to The Associated Press. "It was an intense night for everyone in Bilwi, Waspam and the communities along the northern coast," Tamil Zapata, local Bilwi representative of the ruling Sandinista Front, told local Channel 4 according to The Associated Press. At a shelter in Bilwi, farmer Pedro Down was waiting out the storm. "When it comes it can rip off all the (roof) and destroy the house, so you have to look for a safer place," he said, cradling a baby in his arms, according to CBS News. "So I came here to save our lives." Nicaragua Vice President and First Lady Rosario Murillo prayed for God to protect the country. "How many hurricanes have come and we have moved on, thanks to God," the first lady said on television Monday, CBS News reported. In Honduras, 12 people, including two newborns, were trapped in Olanchito, Yoro, Q'hubo TV reported. Reports say fifty families were evacuated amid heavy flooding in Cortes, Honduras. #REPORTEURGENTE | ¡Se reportan 12 personas atrapadas en Olanchito!12 personas entre ellas dos recién nacidos, se encuentran atrapadas en en la comunidad de San Luis en Olanchito, Yoro.Cuerpo de @BomberosHn realiza labores de rescate desde hace más de dos horas. #HuracánEta����. pic.twitter.com/7QAEY9C8lk— Q'hubo TV Oficial (@Qhubotvoficial) November 3, 2020 Upon reaching tropical storm status over the weekend, Eta was made the 28th named storm system of the season, tying a record set by the infamous 2005 season for most named systems in a single year. On top of that, Eta became the strongest Greek-letter named storm in history with winds peaking at 150 mph on Monday night, the upper limits of a Category 4 storm. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) uses the Greek alphabet for storm names when the predetermined list of 21 names is exhausted. While certainly notable for its strengthening and direct impacts on Central America, the entire picture of how Eta will be remembered may not be painted for a couple more weeks. Here are some of the notably historical takeaways from Eta: 150 mph: By peaking at maximum sustained wind speeds of 150 mph on Tuesday morning, Eta tied Hurricane Laura for the title of strongest storm system of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.2007: It has been 13 years since a major hurricane crashed into Nicaragua. Hurricane Felix dealt a devastating blow as a Category 5 hurricane in 2007.28: By strengthening into a tropical storm on Nov. 1, the storm was named Eta and became the 28th named storm of the 2020 season, tying a record with 2005.Fifth: Eta became the fifth system of 2020 to reach major hurricane status.Third: Of those five major hurricanes, Eta will be the third to make landfall.Nov. 3: By reaching Nicaragua on Nov. 3, Eta became the latest landfalling storm of Category 4 strength or greater to ever reach the nation. According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, Eta may stick around for long enough to even be part of your Thanksgiving dinner conversation. Eta could emerge back over Caribbean waters after pummeling Central America or a spin-off storm could develop in the western Atlantic, according to Sosnowski. "It is possible we may be planning Thanksgiving dinner and still watching Eta or a spin-off from it," he said. Due to inconsistent and erratic steering winds from Central America to the southwestern Atlantic, Sosnowski said that Eta could take a zig-zagging path from its point of landfall in Central America to Cuba, the southeastern Gulf, Florida and the Bahamas -- a trek that could go on for days. The storm could make landfall as a hurricane in Cuba, then move over the rugged terrain of the country, losing some wind intensity as it does so late in the weekend or early next week. After that, it could approach the southern tip of Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday. "As a result, Eta or a spin-off from it will need to be watched by all interests in the region. If the feature spends time over open, warm waters, it could strengthen and, at the very least, could generate flooding downpours and rough seas with the potential for much more significant impacts," he said. The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30, but AccuWeather meteorologists have been warning since the summer that threats could linger well into December. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.