By Jeff Berardelli
October 26, 2020/10: 26
/ CBS News
The 2020 hurricane season continues to surpass, as tropical storm Zeta intensifies in the western Caribbean.The storm is expected to become a hurricane on Monday, following a similar trajectory to Hurricane Delta, hitting near Cancun, then heading to the northern gulf coast
Zeta is the 27th named system of the 2020 season, which runs more than a month ahead of the record pace set in 2005.This year was marked by 28 tropical storms, and the last one did not form until the end of December. puts 2020 on track to equal or break the all-time record for the number of named storms in the Atlantic in a season
35 days before the next (and the only other time) a 27th storm formed, in 2005 imageTwittercom / fo0TQkPpx8
On Sunday evening, Zeta slowly organized better just north of the coast of Honduras, south of Cuba Maximum winds were near 50 mph and pressure was steadily decreasing, indicating a gradual strengthening Computer models showed called for continuous intensification because the system is located above the warmest pool of water in the hemisphere and upper winds are increasingly favorable for development
A reminder that #Zeta is above the hottest water in the hemisphere The shear is quite strong at the periphery of the storm envelope, but there is a small area above the storm providing protection This is enough to strengthen itself to a hurricane Will be interesting to see how much imageTwittercom / Tkbu4NanHT
By Monday, the official National Hurricane Center forecast is predicting Zeta to be a low-end hurricane, but it shouldn’t be as strong as Hurricane Delta just a few weeks ago The system will make landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancun and Cozumel Monday evening and Tuesday morning Like Delta, it will weaken briefly on land
On Tuesday, as the system reappears over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it will regain some of its strength, likely picking up hurricane intensity and remaining so until Wednesday morning as it moves towards north But on Wednesday, it is expected to encounter strong upper winds as it approaches the Gulf coast, where official forecasts call for a slight weakening upon landing on Wednesday afternoon
The National Hurricane Center forecast cone indicates a landing anywhere between Southeast Louisiana and West Florida Panhandle This would be the 8th storm to make landfall along the Gulf Coast this season, with the highest concentration in Louisiana
Here is a map of the time spent in the 5-day NHC forecast cones so far in 2020
From Sunday night it looks like Zeta will be a strong tropical storm or maybe a very low end hurricane on land.The rule of thumb is that residents close to the strike zone should always prepare for a category higher than expected
The 2020 season is the 5th consecutive season with much above normal storm activity – the normal is 12 named storms Although science is not certain that the number of storms will increase due to climate change caused by man, the signs point in that direction What is more certain is that the number of intense storms will continue to increase as ocean temperatures continue to warm
In the Atlantic Ocean, the probability of a given storm reaching a major hurricane intensity (category 3,4 or 5) is now twice as likely as it was in the 1980s, this which shows how influential warmer ocean waters can be
First published October 25, 2020 / 8:07 PM
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Tropical Storm Zeta, Hurricane Zeta
World News – United States – Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to turn into a hurricane and make landfall on the Gulf Coast
