The eastern half of the country will face dangerous bad weather on Thursday. Tropical Storm Zeta headed northeast, leaving devastation in the south.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warns that strong winds in Alabama and Georgia will move to east Tennessee, Carolina and southeast Virginia. Severe thunderstorms are possible, including intermittent tornadoes east of Zeta center.
Zeta is the fifth storm to hit Louisiana this year. In 2020, the state faced two tropical storms and two hurricanes: Laura, responsible for at least 27 deaths in August, and Delta, which exacerbated the damage Laura did in the same area just weeks later.
Hurricane Zeta hit the coast on Wednesday night near Cocodry in southeast Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, bringing destruction, heavy rain and wind to coastal communities, killing one person and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity.
New Orleans, Louisiana is in the northern eyewall of Hurricane #Zeta. Here's a look at how strong this storm is. pic.twitter.com/BwOflGfczX
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 28, 2020
New Orleans authorities have confirmed reports of at least one electric shock near a collapsed power line and urged residents to stay indoors. A total of three deaths are reported in the state.
As of 8:30 pm, Louisiana had over 550,000 power outages, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks power outages across the country.
One Hattiesburg neighborhood is seeing some major damage from Hurricane #Zeta. I talked with one man who was inside his home and watched one of his trees crash in his front lawn. @WJTV @ StormTeam12 pic.twitter.com/pbheU3g0El
— Anna Farish (@ annaonair12) October 29, 2020
According to Colorado State University researcher Philip Klotzbach, Zeta set a new record for the number of hurricanes in a season — eclipsing the old four storms, recorded back in 2002.
The Bay St. Louis marina is certainly worse for the wear, especially the boats that remained during #Zeta. A 104 mph wind gust was recorded. The eastern eyewall of the storm blew through this small town. @weatherchannel is documenting the #HumanImpact of #HurricaneZeta. pic.twitter.com/rKtU3ot0TE
— Justin Michaels (@JMichaelsNews) October 29, 2020
