Tropical Storm Zeta forms, on path to approach Gulf Coast

By Peta Sheerwood, WRAL meteorologist; Maggie Brown, WRAL multiplatform producer

As if 2020 couldn’t get any crazier, we will likely break the record for the most named storms in an active Atlantic hurricane season this year.

Tropical Storm Zeta formed early Sunday morning in the Gulf of Mexico, being the the 27th named storm this season tying a previous record from 2005.

Models predict that the storm could make landfall twice — once in the Yucatan peninsula and a second time in the United States.

Zeta is expected to make landfall in the Yucatan peninsula as a Category Hurricane 1 on Tuesday morning, then hit Louisiana on Wednesday or Thursday.

We still have more than one month left of Hurricane season and we will probably see named more storms before the season ends. The next storm that will get a name will be called “Eta.”

A tropical storm is named when it has wind speeds as strong as 39 mph.

Hurricane Epsilon has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm and is moving away from the United States. The hurricane is expected to lift north, then east and then weaken even more in the northern Atlantic. Epsilon will likely weaken into a tropical storm on Sunday.

Because of tropic activity, there is a risk for high rip currents on the North Carolina coast. If you do find yourself in a rip current stay calm and swim parallel to the shore.