ZETA STRENGTHENS SOME MORE AS OF WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON 10/28 110 MPH WINDS CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE... ...EXPECTED TO BRING HURRICANE CONDITIONS TO A PORTION OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST LATER THIS AFTERNOON...
- A Hurricane Warning continues for Morgan City LA to the MS/AL state line, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans. Hurricane conditions are expected there later this afternoon, with tropical storm conditions beginning within the next few hours. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
- A Storm Surge Warning continues from the mouth of the Atchafalaya River to Navarre FL, incuding Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, Pensacola Bay and Mobile Bay. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide... - Mouth of the Pearl River to Dauphin Island AL...6-9 ft - Port Fourchon LA to the Mouth of the Mississippi River...5-8 ft - Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Mouth of the Pearl River including Lake Borgne...5-7 ft - Mouth of the Atchafalaya River to Port Fourchon LA...4-6 ft - Mobile Bay...4-6 ft - Dauphin Island AL to AL/FL border...3-5 ft - Lake Pontchartrain...3-5 ft - AL/FL state line to Navarre FL incl. Pensacola Bay...2-4 ft - Intracoastal City LA to the Mouth of the Atchafalaya River including Vermilion Bay...1-3 ft - Navarre FL to Yankeetown FL including Choctawhatchee Bay and Saint Andrew Bay...1-3 ft
- A Tropical Storm Warning continues from the MS/AL state line to Walton/Bay County Line FL. Tropical storm conditions are expected there by late today. Warnings extend well inland into Georgia and Alabama including metro Atlanta and Birmingham. Parts of South Carolina is under a tropical storm watch.
A few tornadoes are expected this afternoon through tonight over southeastern parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, southern Alabama, and the western Panhandle of Florida.
- Damaging winds, especially in gusts, will spread well inland across portions of southeastern Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Georgia this evening through early Thursday morning, and into the Carolinas and southeastern Virginia on Thursday. Wind gusts could be especially severe across the southern Appalachian Mountains on Thursday.
At 1 p.m. CDT, the center of Hurricane Zeta was centered over the Gulf of Mexico about 145 miles (235 km) southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 155 miles (255 km) south-southwest of New Orleans, LA. Zeta is moving toward the north-northeast near 20 mph (35 km/h). On the forecast track, the center of Zeta will make landfall in southeastern Louisiana this afternoon, move close to the Mississippi coast this evening, and then move across the southeastern and eastern United States on Thursday.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 110 mph with higher gusts - a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km). Some additional strengthening is possible during the next few hours, and Zeta is expected to reach the northern Gulf Coast as a hurricane before weakening over the southeastern United States on Thursday.
Areas of heavy rainfall, both in advance of and along the track of Zeta, will impact areas from the central Gulf Coast to the Mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, and eastward into the southern to central Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic today through Thursday. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches with isolated amounts of 6 inches are expected across these areas, resulting in flash, urban, small stream, and minor river flooding.
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