Tropical Storm Zeta became the 27th named system of the 2020 season as it picked up strength in the Western Caribbean and began moving toward the United States, forcing airlines to begin issuing travel advisories.
According to Weather.com, the storm system was building strength over the warm waters between Honduras and Cuba on Sunday night, with maximum sustained winds were near 50 miles per hour.
Zeta remains on the cusp of becoming the 11th hurricane of the 2020 season. When it does, 2020 will join just 6 other years with 11 hurricanes or more:
15: 2005
12: 2010, 1969
11: 1995, 1950, 1887, 2020? pic.twitter.com/uqOp2mLu8i— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 26, 2020
While the National Hurricane Center does not expect Zeta to be as strong as Hurricane Delta, the storm system is expected to become a hurricane on Monday and make landfall along the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancun and Cozumel by Tuesday morning.
Here are the 11 PM EDT Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Zeta. The latest storm information can be found at: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/06rG6gw30j
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 26, 2020
As a result, the four largest airlines in the U.S.—American, Delta, Southwest and United—have issued travel advisories for airports they serve in Cancun and Cozumel. The carriers are waiving change fees for flights scheduled through October 28.
After passing over the Gulf of Mexico, Zeta is expected to regain strength and make landfall again in the U.S. between southeast Louisiana and the western Florida Panhandle, marking the eighth storm to make landfall along the Gulf Coast this season.
The storm is expected to make landfall in the U.S. between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, bringing heavy rainfall, possibly deadly flooding and high winds. Airlines in the U.S. plan to expand travel advisories to include American cities as the trajectory of the storm becomes clearer.
Zeta is the 27th named system of the 2020 season, just one short of the all-time record for the number of named storms in the Atlantic in one season.