Zeta degenerated to tropical storm as it slammed through Louisiana and Gulf Coast states Wednesday night and into Thursday morning
Forecasters predict Zeta will be absorbed into another system over the western Atlantic sometime Friday as it continues its northeastern journey.
As of 5 a.m., Zeta was 65 miles west-northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, and was moving northeast at 39 mph. Its tropical-storm-force winds reach up to 175 miles. Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama tracked a wind gust reaching 91 mph Wednesday evening. Thursday morning, its maximum sustained winds fell to 60 mph.
After Zeta made landfall Wednesday afternoon, roads were flooded near the coast, where forecasters said Zeta made landfall around Terrebone Bay near Cocodrie, an unincorporated fishing village at the end of a highway with a marine laboratory but few if any full-time residents.
Streams of rainfall ran off roofs in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter, signs outside bars and restaurants swayed back and forth in the wind and palm trees along Canal Street whipped furiously. A few trees were down, and one that fell across utility lines sparked a bright orange flash.
About 2.2 million customers are without power Thursday morning in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.
NHC forecasters warned of strong storm surge along the northern Gulf Coast Wednesday night, though surge predictions had decreased from a peak of 11 feet from the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama border earlier in the day.
“The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” the NHC said.
Also, “extremely dangerous” hurricane conditions are spreading throughout southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi coasts while Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle are experiencing tropical storm conditions.
The Pelican State has been hit by four storms already during the 2020 season: Cristobal, Laura, Marco and Delta. Over 3,500 evacuees from Hurricanes Laura and Delta are still being sheltered, according to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“We are already coordinating with our federal partners to respond to Zeta, as we have been since the start of the COVID pandemic and throughout the recovery from Hurricanes Laura and Delta,” Edwards said.
President Donald Trump approved the governor’s request for a federal emergency declaration in preparation for Zeta.
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The storm is projected to move into Mississippi Wednesday night and then will lose power while moving across the southeastern and eastern portion of the country Thursday.
A hurricane warning is in effect from the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama border, as of 11 p.m.
Florida falls under a tropical storm warning, which extends from the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Walton/Bay County Line in Florida. A storm surge warning is also in effect from the mouth of the Pearl River, Louisiana to Navarre, Florida — including Pensacola Bay, where waters are expected to rise between 2 to 4 feet — and Mobile Bay.
Zeta became the sixth hurricane of the 2020 season to make landfall in the United States, tying it with 1886 and 1985 for most continental US landfalling hurricanes in a single Atlantic season on record, said Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach.
Orlando Sentinel staff writer Katie Rice and The Associated Press contributed to this report.