Flooding rain possible Thursday from Zeta, StormWatch7 on Weather Alert
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — 5 P.M. UPDATE: Zeta has made landfall in southeastern Louisiana after strengthening into a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds up to 110 mph.
Zeta had been moving fairly quickly north-northeast at 22 mph. From there, the system will track northeast along the Mississippi coast, through the southeast and quickly toward the mid-Atlantic.
Damaging winds may spread far inland into the southern Appalachians due to the fast forward speed and Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued as far north as North Carolina.
Taking a look at the water vapor imagery below gives a good idea why it's moving at such a fast speed. A strong cut-off low is spinning over Texas with strong mid-level flow out of the southwest to northeast ahead of it. There is also an area of high pressure over South Florida helping push the storm northward as well. The hurricane lies between these two systems and the resulting steering flow has accelerated to the north-northeast.
The track continues to see Zeta approaching landfall this evening and the city of New Orleans closer to 7pm tonight as a Category 1 hurricane.
We could see some showers arrive ahead of Zeta as early as tonight, although the heavier rain will hold off until tomorrow (Thursday). Expect widespread heavy rainfall from early Thursday morning through Thursday evening. Showers may linger into Friday morning. See the latest Futurecast below:
When it comes to rainfall accumulation, the forecast models are in pretty good agreement that Zeta will produce widespread totals of 1.50"-3.00" around our region, causing concern for some localized flooding.
For this reason, StormWatch7 is on Weather Alert Thursday. Stay with us for continuous updates, and be sure to download the Stormwatch7 Weather App for the latest forecast and track.
The good news is, the Halloween forecast looks dry. Heavy rain from Zeta on Thursday will linger into Friday morning before clearing out Friday afternoon. Friday night festivities should be able to continue according to plan, but keep in mind the ground will be soggy. Stick to the sidewalks and driveways, rather than running across lawns.
We are in store on Halloween for some of the coolest air since early May, with a good portion of the DMV dropping near or below zero Saturday. Although it's too early for a Freeze Warning or Frost Advisory to be in place, they are a very likely possibility this weekend.
