Louisiana Gov. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) declared a state of emergency Monday as Zeta strengthened into a hurricane and threatened Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as it moved towards the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The state of play: Zeta was expected to make landfall on the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula Monday night, bringing with it a "dangerous storm surge" and "heavy rainfall" as it moved into the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Service said.
- "Through Tuesday, heavy rainfall is expected across Yucatan Peninsula, the Cayman Islands, and central to western Cuba, which could lead to flash flooding in urban areas," the NHC said in its 5 p.m. ET advisory.
The big picture: Zeta is the 27th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season — equaling a record set in 2005.
- States along the Gulf Coast, particularly Louisiana, have been hard hit.
- If Zeta continues along its projected path, it will be the fifth named storm to make landfall in Louisiana this year, the most since records began in 1851, the Times-Picayune reported.
- “While there is some uncertainty in Zeta’s track, it is likely that Louisiana will see some impacts from this storm, and the people of our state need to take it seriously," Gov. Edwards told Louisiana residents, many of whom are still rebuilding the damage left behind from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. "It’s easy to let your guard down late in the hurricane season, but that would be a huge mistake."
Hurricane #Zeta is expected to make landfall later tonight over the northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Here's the 7 PM CDT intermediate advisory info. More: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/ddPc0qn6LE
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 27, 2020
Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details on the storm.