Storm Surge/Tide — Lower Jefferson, Louisiana

2020-10-28 · Lower Jefferson, Louisiana

Event narrative

Jefferson Parish ordered a mandatory evacuation for coastal communities including Grand Isle, Jean Lafitte, Crown Point and Barataria. The storm surge breached the local levee on the gulf side of Grand Isle. High water marks collected by the NWS suggest peak water levels of 2 to 3 ft inundation across much of the island. This is consistent with the peak water level recorded by the NOS tide gauge on Grand Isle at 2.98 ft MHHW. The Barataria Bay (NGIL1) tide gauge measured a peak of 7.81 NAVD88. The Barataria Bay (EGIL1) tide gauge measured a peak of 3.74 NAVD88. The Caminada (CPGL1) tide gauge measured a peak of 3.58 NAVD88.

Wider weather episode

A tropical depression formed in the northwestern Caribbean on the afternoon of October 24th. 9 hours later, it became the twenty-seventh named storm and eleventh hurricane of the exceptionally active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. After meandering virtually in the same place, it finally began moving northwest and slowly strengthening before making its first landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula on October 26th. Zeta exited the Yucantan Peninsula weaker but still a strong tropical storm. The path of the storm began shifting from northwest to northeast, and heading straight towards Louisiana. In terms of intensity, Zeta slowly but steadily strengthened from this point all the way up until landfall. It reached the highest wind speed possible of a Category 2 storm, 110 mph. Zeta produced extensive wind damage across southeast Louisiana with measured sustained winds up to 87 mph and gusts up to 110 mph. Thousands of power poles were downed and thousands of homes experienced minor damage. Storm surge ranged from a few feet to several feet. There were a total of 1 fatality and 1 injury. Hurricane Zeta caused approximately $1 billion worth of damage.

Zeta was the record-tying sixth hurricane to make landfall in the United States and the record fifth named storm to strike Louisiana in 2020.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 925128. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.