MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center said Monday afternoon that Zeta has strengthened into a hurricane with 80 mph winds.
SPECIAL SECTION: Hurricane Guide | Hurricane Center
The system is located 105 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico and moving northwest at 10 mph.
According to the National Hurricane Center's latest update, Zeta is projected to make landfall on the eastern part of the Louisiana coastline on Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning.
At that point, officials believe the system will be "at or near hurricane strength."
Zeta is the 11th hurricane in the Atlantic basin this year.
The Louisiana coastline has already been targeted by four major storms this year — Cristobal, Laura, Marco and Delta.
The strongest of those storms, Laura, reached category 4 status and caused extensive damage to the Lake Charles area, contributing to 17 deaths in the U.S.
This hurricane season, which has had 27 named storms, is tied for the most named storms on record, which happened in 2005.
210 PM CDT Update: Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that #Zeta is now a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of around 80 mph. More information at https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/wAESCd9FP5
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 26, 2020
