Zeta's path moves west, expected to strike central Gulf Coast Wednesday evening

Tropical Storm Zeta's projected landfall moved west, to below Morgan City, but a dramatic northeast trajectory after that should mean its impact on Avoyelles will not be any greater than its previous expected strike near Grand Isle.

Forecasters put all of Avoyelles in the "up to five inches" projection for this storm, and probably more like 1-2 inches. Avoyelles is currently not expected to get much in the way of tropical winds out of Zeta.

Zeta is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane by tonight or Tuesday morning when it will hit the northeast area of the Yucatan Peninsula. It will weaken to a tropical storm by Wednesday and is predicted to hit Louisiana's coast Wednesday evening with 69 mph winds.

“We must roll up our sleeves, like we always do, and prepare for a potential impact to Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted Sunday. Louisiana has been hit by five named storms so far this year. Laura and Delta caused significant damage. The Bayou State narrowly missed being hit by a sixth, Sally, whose path moved to the Florida Panhandle instead of near New Orleans.

Hopefully the storm and its clouds will be gone by Saturday so Avoyelles Parish trick-or-treaters can enjoy the rare Halloween blue moon.

While a "blue moon" -- the second full moon in a month -- occurs in a month about every 2 1/2 years, a full moon on Halloween occurs only once every 19 years.