A hurricane warning has been issued for New Orleans and the surrounding areas as Tropical Storm Zeta barrels towards the Gulf Coast. Zeta was downgraded from a hurricane after making landfall in the Yucatán Peninsula on Monday (October 26) night.
Forecasters predict Zeta will strengthen back into a hurricane as it churns in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Zeta is the 27th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season and could set a record if it makes landfall as a Category 1 storm. Zeta would be the fifth named storm to make landfall in Louisiana, the most since the state started keeping records in 1851.
Zeta is forecast to dump heavy rain and cause coastal flooding of four to six feet when it makes landfall on Wednesday. The storm could also batter the coast with high winds and comes as the state is still recovering from previous storms.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards issued an emergency declaration and called up 1,150 Louisiana National Guardsman.
"This storm is expected to make landfall somewhere on the Gulf Coast by midweek, meaning we have a few days to prepare. As we've seen this hurricane season, a tropical threat during the ongoing COVID-19 emergency is challenging, but something we can handle," Edwards said in a tweet.
Photo: National Hurricane Center