Hurricane (Typhoon) — Upper Plaquemines, Louisiana

2020-10-28 · Upper Plaquemines, Louisiana

Event narrative

Zeta produced widespread wind damage throughout the parish with trees, power lines and power poles snapping in the wind. Hundreds of structures suffered minor wind damage and some experiencing major

damage across the northern portion of the parish. At least one mobile home was completely destroyed, along with one large metal building. At the peak the parish experienced a near 100 percent power outage. The Belle chasse ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 87 mph. Ahead of the storm, the parish issued voluntary evacuation orders for the entire East Bank of the parish as well as portions of the West Bank. 48 people sheltered in a parish shelter, and an unknown number evacuated to other areas.

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 925301. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.