The National Hurricane Center says Zeta has intensified to hurricane strength.
"Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that Zeta has become a hurricane, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph," hurricane center forecasters announced shortly after 2 p.m.
Zeta is forecast to pass over the Yucatan peninsula, then turn north in the Gulf of Mexico. It could make landfall in Louisiana, or perhaps Mississippi or Alabama, Wednesday night as a hurricane.
