by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:56 AM ET, Mon October 26, 2020
Update: October 27, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. ET
Travelers and residents in and around the U.S. Gulf Coast are on notice as weather officials have issued hurricane and storm surge warnings ahead of Zeta's predicted arrival on Wednesday.
According to Weather.com, Zeta weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall along Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, but it is forecast to regain hurricane strength Tuesday afternoon.
As a result of the predicted heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surge, airlines such as American and Delta were the first to begin issuing travel advisories for airports in the United States in the path of the storm.
In addition to change fees being waived by airlines serving facilities along the Gulf Coast, Amtrak also announced it has altered service for the Sunset Limited, Crescent and City of New Orleans trains.
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.
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.
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.
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