Hurricane Zeta likely to hit Yucatan, heading for the United States

MIAMI (AP) – A strengthening of Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to become a hurricane on Monday as it heads towards the eastern end of the dotted Mexico-Yucatan Peninsula resort, then pass likely to a possible landing on the central U Gulf Coast midweek

Zeta became the 27th oldest named storm in the Atlantic season on Sunday.The system was centered about 340 kilometers southeast of Cozumel Island on Monday morning, the US National Hurricane Center said it had maximum sustained winds of 110 km / h (70 mph)

The storm was moving northwest at about 15 km / h (15 km / h) after being almost stationary over the weekend Forecasters said Zeta was due to move to the Yucatan Peninsula later on Monday before heading for the Gulf of Mexico, then approaching the US Gulf Coast by Wednesday, although it could weaken by then

Officials in the state of Quintana Roo, the location of Cancun and other resorts, said they were monitoring the storm They reported nearly 60,000 tourists to the state by midweek The government state said 71 shelters are being prepared for tourists or residents who may need them

Government continues to distribute aid, including tin roofs, to Yucatan residents hit by Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Gamma earlier this month

Hurricane warning has been extended for the Yucatan Peninsula from Tulum to Dzilam, including Cancun and Cozumel

Zeta was hanging out on Sunday because she was stuck between two powerful high pressure systems in the east and west, and couldn’t move north or south because nothing was moving there too, said Brian McNoldy, hurricane researcher at the University of Miami

Phil Klotzbach, hurricane researcher at Colorado State University, said when a storm gets stuck it can dump dangerous downpours in one place, causing flooding This happened in 2017 over Houston with Harvey, when over 60 inches (150 centimeters) of rain fell and in 2019 over the Bahamas with Category 5 Hurricane Dorian, which was the worst case scenario for a stationary storm, he said

The hurricane center says Zeta could bring 10 to 20 centimeters of rain to Mexico, the Cayman Islands and parts of Cuba, before submerging central U Gulf Coast

Louisiana Government John Bel Edwards urged citizens of his state to watch for the storm, and the state has activated its Crisis Action Team

Zeta broke the record for the 27th oldest named storm in the Atlantic that formed November 29, 2005, Klotzbach said

This year’s season has so many storms that the hurricane center turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names

Zeta is furthest from the Greek alphabet that the Atlantic season has passed.There was also a tropical storm Zeta in 2005, but that year 28 storms occurred because meteorologists returned later and discovered that they had missed one, which then turned into an « unnamed named storm, » Klotzbach said

Tropical Cyclone, Tropical Storm Zeta, US Gulf Coast