MIAMI (AP) — Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta is barely advancing in the western Caribbean, but forecasters say it poses the risk of a rain-heavy hurricane for Mexico’s resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season.
The system was centered about 275 miles (445 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island in Mexico early Sunday evening, with top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says it's nearly stationary, though it's likely to brush the northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula or westernmost Cuba by late Monday or early Tuesday and then close in on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
