Zeta Roars Ashore in Louisiana

At 4 p.m. CDT, the center of Hurricane Zeta was centered over the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisana coastline near Cocodrie, about 65 miles south-southwest of New Orleans, and moving toward the north-northeast near 24 mph. Credit: NOAA/GOES

Oct 28 (Reuters) – Hurricane Zeta smashed into Louisiana on Wednesday with 110-mile-per-hour (175 kph) winds and what government trackers called “a life-threatening storm surge,” the third hurricane to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast state this year.

Zeta’s extremely dangerous winds pummeled a stretch of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Mississippi. The category 2 storm tied a 15-year-old record for the most hurricane strikes on the state in a single year.

Zeta had raced across the Gulf of Mexico, intensifying to 20 miles per hour as it advanced over gulf waters. Its winds made it a strong Category 2 storm on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Zeta’s damaging winds will reach New Orleans, about 98 miles northeast from Cocodrie, Louisiana, and sweep “across portions of southeastern Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Georgia,” said hurricane center forecaster Richard Pasch. Severe wind gusts could be felt on Thursday across the southern Appalachian Mountains, he said.

Its storm surge will reach up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) from Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Pearl River, in Mississippi. The storm surge could spill over the levees guarding some of the state’s east.

Rains of 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) are expected from the Gulf Coast to the central Appalachians, the NHC said.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards urged residents to take shelter, promising rescue and recovery aid would be available immediately after the storm departed the southeast area.

New Orleans halted city and transit services and advised residents living outside the state’s protective levee system to leave for higher ground. Coastal and low-lying communities along the state’s Gulf Coast called for mandatory evacuations.

Oil and gas producers have evacuated 231 offshore production facilities and shut wells producing two-thirds of the offshore region’s oil production and 45% of its natural gas output.

Louisiana and Alabama issued state emergency orders and the Trump administration declared an emergency that provides additional federal resources to Louisiana.

A Louisiana landfall would make Zeta the fifth named storm to directly strike the state this year after Cristobal, Marco, Laura and Delta. Tropical Storm Beta went ashore over the border in Texas, bringing winds and flooding rains. (Reporting by Erwin Seba and Gary McWilliams; editing by David Gregorio, John Stonestreet, Alistair Bell and Jonathan Oatis)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020.

4:30PM CT: The eye wall is about an hour away from the City of New Orleans. Those in metro NOLA need to get to shelter and stay there until the storm passes overnight tonight. Stay safe! #mswx #lawx pic.twitter.com/7CGF31wCH0

— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) October 28, 2020

BREAKING: A 50-foot tall wave was just recorded at the LOOP (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port). This happened as a result of the ongoing Hurricane Zeta. There are no tankers in the area. #OOTT pic.twitter.com/5arRvDWlhJ

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) October 28, 2020

#HurricaneZeta nears, but #USCG responders are prepped & ready. Last week, RADM John Nadeau along with CAPT Will Watson briefed @DHS_Wolf on hurricane preparedness, which included a visit to the LOOP, the continental US’s only export capable deepwater oil port. pic.twitter.com/UQuCA9sfuT

— Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (@ComdtUSCG) October 28, 2020

5 PM CDT Hurricane #Zeta update: The eyewall of Zeta is approaching New Orleans with strong winds, while life-threatening storm surge is ongoing near the coast. https://t.co/bDPuXcHB38 pic.twitter.com/PY6EOuPSoy

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 28, 2020

Check out these waves from Hurricane #Zeta on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This specific rig is south of Louisiana, and was near the eyewall of Zeta. They recorded wind gusts exceeding 150 mph, and waves over 50 feet!
?: Brian Stout pic.twitter.com/yF8D4gKaJo

— Jennifer Lambers (@jlamberswx) October 28, 2020

Northern eye wall of #Zeta now emerging in Golden Meadow, LA. pic.twitter.com/pNIphfHe0r

— Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office (@LafourcheSO) October 28, 2020

Eyewall of #Zeta ripping into #NOLA now pic.twitter.com/x7RFA9uWT4

— Rob Marciano (@RobMarciano) October 28, 2020

Port Fourchon; Lousiana (via Snapchat) pic.twitter.com/iG3Y2gGSxY

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) October 28, 2020