Mainly Dry Monday, But Zeta Impacts Our Area Later This Week
Tropical depression 28 strengthened to tropical storm Zeta overnight, and strengthened a little further Sunday afternoon. The 4PM Sunday advisory from the NHC found sustained winds near 50 mph. It’s in the west-central Caribbean now, and near stationary. It starts moving northwest soon, and could quickly become a hurricane prior to impacting the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. It may be a Category 1 storm as it moves north through the Gulf of Mexico. However, it’s forecast to weaken some prior to landfall on Wednesday. While landfall could be anywhere from the Louisiana to Alabama coast, a Louisiana coast landfall looks most likely.
Direct impacts are likely in our area given the current forecast track. At this time, rain totals of 1-2″, sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph (with gusts near tropical storm force), and possibly a tornado threat are reasonable. The tornado threat hinges on whether Zeta moves inland to our east. If it does, then the opportunity is there at least. But if our area ends up on the west side of Zeta, impacts would be lesser. There’s still some model spread, so the forecast track can and will change between now and Wednesday. Stay tuned for updates.
It was a mostly cloudy Sunday across central and south Alabama. However, some breaks of sunshine allowed temperatures to warm into the upper 70s and low 80s for some. The sky remains mostly cloudy overnight, with lows in the low to mid 60s. Like Saturday night, some patchy and locally dense fog could form late. Watch out for that Monday morning.
Monday features a bit more sunshine, with a partly cloudy sky. There’s a chance for a stray shower, but most locations remain dry. Highs reach the upper 70s to low 80s. Rain increases in coverage late Tuesday as tropical moisture associated with Zeta arrives. Expect clouds to increase too, but highs could reach the low 80s anyway. Direct impacts from Zeta arrive late Wednesday through early Thursday. At the least, rain coverage and intensity look higher at that time. Zeta’s remnants get absorbed into a storm system approaching from the west Thursday. The combined system moves to our east late Thursday. Cooler and drier air moves in Thursday night, with lows falling into the 50s and a clearing sky.
Friday through next weekend features plenty of sunshine and mainly dry weather. Expect highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s each day. Halloween’s weather certainly looks more Fall-like.
