HURRICANE ZETA ABOUT TO MAKE LANDFALL IN YUCATAN; LOCAL IMPACTS WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY… Hurricane Zeta is only a few hours away from making landfall near Cozumel, Mexico. Zeta will move over the Yucatan Peninsula tonight before moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico tomorrow (Tuesday). Zeta will move across the Gulf and likely make landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday or Wednesday night as a category 1 hurricane or strong tropical storm. A Hurricane Watch has been posted for much of eastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. In addition, our entire local area in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida is now under a Tropical Storm Watch as we could have tropical storm force (39+ mph) winds at times on Wednesday night into early Thursday as the core of Zeta moves by. Heavy rain, tornadoes, storm surge, high winds, and all hurricane-related hazards will be possible across the area. Below are a few Monday evening forecast notes.
8PM MONDAY ADVISORY – HURRICANE ZETA… A Hurricane Warning is now in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula from Punta Allen to Progreso, Mexico, including Cozumel. Maximum sustained winds near the center of Hurricane Zeta are near 80 mph. Zeta is now moving at a quick 12 mph to the northwest. Forward speed will probably increase somewhat prior to landfall. This is good news as this will help to potentially limit the overall heavy rain and flash flooding threat. Minimum central pressure as of 8PM is down to 983 millibars.
ZETA LIKELY TO MAKE LANDFALL LATE WEDNESDAY OR EARLY THURSDAY… The cone of uncertainty for the northern Gulf Coast now extends from Morgan City, Louisiana eastward to Pensacola Beach, FL. A landfall point in southeast Louisiana seems most likely, but further jogs to the east or west may be possible in the hours ahead. It should be vehemently emphasized that the landfall POINT is one point on the map. Impacts WILL extend well outward from the center of circulation and our local area is slated to be on the volatile eastern side of this storm as it passes. Keep in mind that local impacts in south Alabama and northwest Florida are likely to be maximized 6-12 hours AFTER the official landfall happens since Zeta will be moving northeast toward the area after landfall.
HURRICANE ZETA – LOCAL IMPACTS… Heavy rain and tornadoes will probably end up being the greatest impacts from Zeta for our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida. Gusty winds will also be possible near the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches. All coastal hazards are possible as well, including rip currents, high waves, coastal flooding, and storm surge. Fortunately, there continues to be high confidence Zeta will be accelerating northeast by the middle of the week, meaning widespread extreme river and creek flooding (like what we saw with Hurricane Sally several weeks ago) is currently NOT expected.
TIMING OF LOCAL ZETA IMPACTS… The overall timeline of expected impacts from Hurricane Zeta has been moved to be a bit later compared to earlier forecasts. Noon Wednesday to Noon Thursday will be the 24 hour window when potential local impacts from Tropical Storm Zeta will be MOST likely to happen across south Alabama and northwest Florida. The latest guidance suggests 8PM Wednesday to 4AM on Thursday will be the 8 hour window when impacts will be most likely to happen locally across south Alabama and northwest Florida.
TORNADO WARNING POLICY… Any time there is an active tornado warning in effect for southwest Alabama or northwest Florida, we provide uninterrupted, live video coverage on Facebook Live and in the RedZone Weather app. Our detailed coverage commitment is outlined at redzoneweather.com/coverage. We are proud to cover all parts of Escambia (AL), Covington, Monroe, Conecuh, Baldwin, Mobile, Clarke, Washington, Butler, Escambia (FL), Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties. If you live in any locale in those counties, be sure to tune into our coverage whenever there is an active tornado warning!
SET UP APP ALERTS… Many updates will be posted throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Be sure to visit the Alerts tab (bottom right corner) and tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the alerts you’d like to receive from me. If you like a lot of info, be sure to toggle ON Low-Level Alerts.
NEXT UPDATE… My next detailed video update concerning Hurricane Zeta will be posted by 7:15AM tomorrow morning. Until then, plenty more updates will be posted in the RedZone Weather app. Have a nice Monday evening!