Alabama Governor Kay Ivey declared a State of Emergency on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Tropical Storm Zeta’s landfall, which is expected on Wednesday evening.
Mobile County, specifically the area around the town of Dauphin Island, has been identified as the area of Alabama most likely to bear the brunt of the storm.
Though currently a tropical storm, Zeta is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall.
“While this storm is not expected to have an impact as large as storms we’ve seen move through the Gulf earlier this year, we want to be in the best place possible to respond to anticipated rain, storm surge and mass power outage,” the governor said in a statement.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is warning of a “life threatening storm surge” late Wednesday night for Dauphin Island.
The organization also warns of “damaging winds, especially in gusts… well inland across portions of southeast Mississippi an southern Alabama Wednesday night due to Zeta’s fast forward speed.”
“I encourage everyone to remain weather aware and tuned in to their trusted news source as this storm could shift direction or change intensity. We continue to track the path of this storm and will stay in touch with the people of Alabama with any updates,” added Ivey in her statement.
The governor’s full proclamation related to Zeta can be read here.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
