10pm Update: Zeta has weakened to a category 1 storm with 80 mph winds while racing to the northeast at 31 mph. Zeta should weaken to a tropical storm overnight and likely exit the U.S. East Coast by Thursday evening.
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Hurricane Zeta was making landfall late Wednesday afternoon with the core of the storm advancing over Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes.
Latest doppler radar here.
Zeta a powerful category 2 storm with 110 mph winds (just shy of a major storm) will only slowly weaken as it races through Southeast Louisiana and into Coastal Mississippi later this evening.
The storm is moving very quickly to the north-northeast at 24 mph and will make it to Eastern Tennessee/Western North Carolina by daybreak Thursday.
Damaging winds and widespread power outages can be expected near and just to the northeast and east of the center of circulation this evening.
Because Zeta is moving so quickly the threat of major flooding rains are not on the table, with 3-6" of rain likely over roughly a 2-3 hour period...which will likely cause some localized road flooding issues, but hopefully nothing more.
In Acadiana, all tropical watches were dropped earlier Wednesday with the exception of coastal tides which will stay 2-3 feet above normal into Wednesday night.
Storm surge will be as high as 5-8 feet across Southeast Louisiana and up to 6-9 feet for coastal Mississippi.
The same usual areas in Southeast Louisiana that flood in hurricanes from storm surge will do so again Wednesday night.
Water levels should drop fairly quickly with the brisk west-northwest winds that will move in for Thursday.
Scattered tropical showers and a few storms will be possible for Acadiana primarily Wednesday evening with activity tapering before midnight as a strong cold front advances across the area clearing our skies by daybreak.
Temperatures will drop into the upper 40s to near 50 Thursday morning and will likely feel even cooler than that with gusty W/NW winds.
Look for lots of sunshine to follow with temperatures normal for mid-winter through mid-next week as a secondary front pushes on through Sunday.
See the KATC 10 Day forecast for the chilly temperatures ahead.
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