Hurricane Zeta expected to bring inches of rain to the Carolinas

Category One Hurricane Zeta could bring up to 4 inches of rain to the Carolinas as it moves inland this week, with some isolated areas getting more, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters predict the storm will again be a Category 1 hurricane when it reaches the Gulf Coast early Wednesday, at which point it will likely hook to the right right toward the Mid-Atlantic states.

Storm winds could reach South Carolina and North Carolina after dark Wednesday into dawn Thursday, forecasters say. Rainfall is expected to be heaviest in the Upstate of South Carolina and the mountains of North Carolina.

Outer bands of the storm will likely impact Charlotte, Raleigh and the northern Outer Banks.

Rain chances on Thursday are 80% in Charlotte, 70% in Raleigh and 60% in Columbia, according to the National Weather Service. Showers will begin to ease on Friday.

Between 2 and 4 inches of rain are expected Wednesday night across parts of the eastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, Alabama, northern Georgia. It will reach the southern Appalachians into the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday, forecasters say.

“The expected rainfall could lead to flash, urban, and small stream flooding, along with minor river flooding,” forecasters said.

Zeta was 320 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River Wednesday morning, and moving northwest at 17 mph, according to the hurricane center. The storm’s sustained winds were 85 mph, and rainfall totals were averaging 4 to 8 inches in the Caribbean, with isolated areas of 12 inches.

The National Weather Service expects the storm to move toward the Carolinas because that is the “path of least resistance” once comes ashore.

“Fortunately, Zeta’s rapid speed will work to reduce storm-total rainfall across the area,” the National Weather Service said.

“Some of this rainfall will occur over short periods of time. ... With stream flows running above to much-above normal across the area, runoff should be sufficient to see several streams approach bankfull levels with isolated areas of nuisance flooding. More significant flooding is impossible to pinpoint this far out.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 8:16 AM.