Sunday Morning Look At Tropical Storm Zeta

Tropical Storm Zeta, with winds of 40 mph this morning, is expected to become a hurricane by tomorrow night as it moves over the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Then, it weakens into a tropical storm Wednesday as it approaches the Central Gulf Coast due to cooler water and strong winds aloft.

Some notes concerning the impact on the Gulf Coast and inland parts of Alabama…

*A good bit of uncertainty remains concerning the track forecast of Zeta since the system is still somewhat disorganized and has shown little movement ove the past 24 hours.

*Confidence is high that Zeta will be under hurricane strength at the time of landfall on the Gulf Coast, but it will bring storm surge, rainfall, and wind impacts to areas from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, including the Alabama coast.

*Most of the rain associated with Zeta will come Tuesday night through Thursday morning. Thankfully, the system will be accelerating and rain amounts are not expected to be too excessive (1-2 inches for most places).

*Zeta will be merging with an approaching mid-latitude cold front; it is too early to know if there will be any threat of isolated tropical tornadoes. It is possible, but just too early to know.

*The wind field associated with Zeta suggests there won’t be any big issues for inland Alabama, like power outages or downed trees. Winds along the coast could gust as high as 50 mph in a few spots, however. Too early to know the exact impact for any specific spot on the coast.

*Cooler, drier air follows the system Friday and over Halloween weekend.

Keep an eye on the blog for updates!

Tags: zeta

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Tropical