As expected, Tropical Storm Zeta was named today and is expected to make landfall as a hurricane on Wednesday along the Louisiana coast. So far this time it looks like eastern LA is more likely to be hit, but there is still some time for things to change. The storm is then expected to pass over AL and northern GA on Wednesday afternoon and evening before proceeding NE over western NC and Virginia on Thursday. As with the previous hurricanes this year, the Southeast is on the right side of the track, which means that there will be scattered severe weather and heavy rains along the rain bands associated with the storm. Rainfall is expected to be relatively light because the storm will be moving along at a pretty good clip, but some areas near and east of the center of circulation could see 2-4 inches. Northern Georgia and Alabama could also see 2-4 inches with the combination of Zeta and a strong front moving north of the region, with some isolated higher amounts in the mountains. If you are concerned about the impact of rain or winds on harvest conditions, you will want to keep an eye out for updates, since the path and associated rain and winds could shift on later forecasts.
In case you were hoping that this will be the last storm of the season, let me remind you that we have a month to go in the official tropical season, and there are some indications that we are entering a more active period again, so it would not surprise me if we see another named storm or two yet this year.
