November Likely to Begin With New Tropical Depression or Storm in the Caribbean

 Jonathan Belles

Published: October 31, 2020

As a reminder that there is one month left in this hurricane season, we're watching for yet another tropical depression or storm in the Caribbean next week. It could bring significant heavy rainfall and gusty winds to Central America at the beginning of November.

This tropical threat comes from a late-season tropical wave swiftly moving westward through the Caribbean Sea.

What We Know Right Now

The tropical wave, dubbed Invest 96L by the National Hurricane Center, has a high chance of development. It is likely to become the season's next tropical depression or storm this weekend or early next week in the central or western Caribbean.

(MORE: What Is an Invest?)

It is bringing showers and thunderstorms to Hispaniola and the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao).

This system will move westward through at least Tuesday with a gradually decreasing forward speed as it reaches the western Caribbean.

Chance of Tropical Formation in the Caribbean

This wave is moving into the warmest water temperatures in the Atlantic Basin, surpassing 85 degrees at times in the expected path of this system. This is still very supportive of tropical development and intensification.

Wind shear – the change in wind direction and wind speed, which typically keeps a lid on tropical storm and hurricane intensity – is expected to remain low.

These two favorable ingredients for development could allow this system to become a tropical storm this weekend or early next week. It could go beyond that and become a hurricane next week, but this is somewhat uncertain. When this system becomes a tropical storm, it will be named "Eta," the first unused greek letter in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

Regardless of development, this system will produce heavy rain and possible flooding in Central America, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands through next Friday.

More than a foot of rainfall is possible in parts of Central America, but this forecast will be refined over the weekend.

Gusty winds are also likely if this system nears Honduras or Nicaragua, but these details will need to be adjusted in the days to come.

What We're Figuring Out

After Tuesday, the track forecast is much more uncertain.

Many computer models show whatever this system becomes meandering near Nicaragua and Honduras during the middle of the upcoming week.

At that time, the system will interact with a high-pressure system, or a ridge or dome of higher pressure, which should be located over Mexico, the eastern Pacific and/or the Gulf of Mexico.

That ridge should guide the tropical system, but both the location of this ridge and its strength are uncertain.

There are at least two possible scenarios that could unfold toward the end of next week:

• If the ridge is farther north or weaker, the system could cross Central America and escape into the eastern Pacific Ocean.
• If the ridge is farther south or stronger, it could get stuck near Central America or recurved north or northeastward.

Neither solution is slightly more likely than the other at this time.

The Hurricane Hunters may fly out to this system on Sunday afternoon to help this forecast improve.

November in the Tropics

Tropical development isn't all that unusual in the western Caribbean in early November.

In fact, several storms have formed in this area over the last 70 years.

Notably, hurricanes Paloma (2008) and Michelle (2001) have formed near Central America and then moved northeastward toward Cuba. Paloma intensified to a Category 4 near Cuba before weakening to a Category 2 at landfall in the country, causing heavy damage in both Cuba and the Cayman Islands. Michelle was one of the most significant hurricanes in Cuban history at the time, causing billions in damage as a Category 4 hurricane.

We should expect one named storm every other November, and one November hurricane roughly every three years. Of course, some years are more active than this while others are quieter.

Historically, most systems that form in the western Caribbean are scooped up by the dipping jet stream over the United States and pushed northeastward over Cuba and the Bahamas and out to sea.

Other tropical systems form in the open Atlantic and around Bermuda or the western Atlantic. These systems are typically spawned by drooping cold fronts in that region or other orphaned low-pressure systems that break off from the jet stream.

By the end of the month, this jet stream makes it increasingly inhospitable for tropical systems to form in the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic. Water temperatures increasingly get too cold for tropical development elsewhere in the basin, leading to less frequent systems.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

Weather-Related Power Outages From Zeta, Billy Complicate Voting

 Jan Wesner Childs

Published: October 30, 2020

More than a million power outages related to hurricanes and a winter storm are complicating voting for people in several states as utility operators and local officials rush to restore electricity and repair damages to polling locations before Election Day.

Hurricane Zeta shut down some polling sites, cut off early voting and affected elections operations in some Southern states on Wednesday and Thursday, while a winter storm in Oklahoma has left more than 200,000 homes, businesses, public buildings and other locations without power for days.

The biggest Election Day impacts could come in Louisiana, where more than 325,000 power outages were still being reported as of about 4 p.m. EDT Friday.

“It is too early to say which polling places are not going to be in service on Tuesday but those decisions are going to be made very quickly," Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a Friday afternoon news briefing.

Edwards said it's likely that some polling places could be moved to different locations, and acknowledged that communicating that to residents without power could be a challenge.

“Quite frankly there will be some people I suspect won’t know until they pull up to their polling location and see a sign," Edwards said.

Here's a state-by-state look at how voting is being impacted by weather-related power outages heading into Election Day on Tuesday.

Louisiana

Early voting in Louisiana ended the day before Zeta hit, so the focus there is making sure polling locations are ready by Election Day.

“The Secretary of State's office is working in close coordination with local officials to assess the damage sustained by our election partners and infrastructure, including registrar of voters offices, clerk of court offices, warehouses, and polling locations," Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said in a news release Thursday.

"We will have a more thorough grasp of the damage to individual polling places over the next 24-48 hours and we will coordinate with clerks of court and local governing authorities if any emergency polling place relocations are necessary," he said.

(MORE: Hurricanes Laura and Delta Complicate Voting For Displaced Louisianans)

The state saw a record turnout for early voting, despite some areas still recovering from previous hurricanes and thousands of evacuees who haven't yet returned home.

Early voters in Lake Charles, spared by Zeta but hit hard by Laura in August and Delta earlier this month, turned out in twice the numbers as they did in the last presidential election, according to a report by The American South.

Still, there were concerns that the storm damage, power outages and the coronavirus pandemic could all lead to voter apathy.

“They are still trying to rebuild. When you have those kinds of challenges, it makes it very hard for folks to be interested in voting," said Ashley Shelton, executive director of the Power Coalition, an activist group in New Orleans. "They feel frustrated and unsupported.”

Early voting sites in Lake Charles were consolidated to three locations after Hurricane Laura. A few areas hit by that storm are also still without power.

Georgia

Polling places in at least 16 counties in Georgia were affected on Thursday, mostly due to widespread power outages, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Some opened later than usual or directed voters to alternate sites. Metro Atlanta's Douglas County ended early voting altogether due to damage and lack of power.

Besides power outages, early voting was also delayed in some locations because poll workers couldn't reach them or there wasn't enough light to see, according to the AJC.

The issues prompted voter advocacy groups to call for an extension to early voting, which ends Friday.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger requested that Georgia Power prioritize restoring power in areas where polling places are located.

“We don’t see there will be an overall impact to voting at this time,” Raffensperger said Thursday. “We still have early voting for the balance of today and tomorrow and obviously the full election on Tuesday.”

Georgia has an emergency system in place to use paper ballots in the event of power outages on Election Day, but not during early voting.

More than 240,000 utility customers were without power as of about 4 p.m. EDT Friday.

Mississippi

Jackson County Circuit Clerk Randy Carney told the Associated Press early voter turnout was noticeably lower Thursday at the county courthouse, which was operating on a generator and about one-third of its normal staff.

Carney said 400 people a day were coming in to vote earlier in the week. That dropped to 200 ahead of the storm on Wednesday, when the courthouse closed early. And only 20 voters had shown up by noon Thursday.

Carney said he didn't think the storm would affect overall voter turnout, though.

Nearly 130,000 power outages were reported there Friday afternoon.

Alabama

Thursday was the last day to request an absentee ballot or vote early in person in Alabama, where more than 229,000 power outages were ongoing.

In Mobile, the absentee voting office was open Thursday even though other county offices were closed.

Voters, some holding umbrellas, lined up outside the county courthouses in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, the AP reported.

Oklahoma

Trees and power lines were covered with up to an inch of ice after a winter storm, named Billy by The Weather Channel, blew through earlier this week. The storm caused widespread power outages.

Areas in and around Oklahoma City were hit hardest. Utility company OG&E was prioritizing election-related power outages, according to KFOR. Early voting started Thursday and runs through Saturday.

The Oklahoma County Election Board opted to use generator power because ongoing outages are expected as limbs continue to fall from trees and work is done to restore power.

“That would mean we would go dark for a few minutes during our early voting and then we’d have to reboot the whole system,” Board Secretary Doug Sanderson said.

Polling places will stay open even without power, he said. Workers will set up booths in areas where there is natural light and use flashlights if necessary.

“They’ll secure the ballots and return them to our office, and we’ll count them here,” Sanderson said.

A person casts their vote in the glow of a voting machine during early voting at the Dunwoody Library after Hurricane Zeta knocked out power in the surrounding areas on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Dunwoody, Ga.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

More Than 1.2 Million Still Without Power as Zeta Cleanup Begins

 Jan Wesner Childs

Published: October 30, 2020

Residents across the South spent Friday assessing damage and beginning the cleanup process after Hurricane Zeta ripped roofs off buildings, knocked down trees that crushed cars and homes and left at least six people dead and millions without power.

"The biggest impact from this storm was wind, and so there is damage to homes and to businesses and other structures, but the biggest damage has been to the electricity infrastructure across Southeast Louisiana," Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a news briefing Friday afternoon.

Edwards said 18 hospitals and about the same number of nursing homes were running on generator power.

(MORE: Hurricane Zeta Recap)

Zeta made landfall in Southeast Louisiana Wednesday as a strong Category 2 hurricane packing wind gusts up to 112 mph. The storm barreled across New Orleans and into Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

More than 1.2 million homes and businesses were still without power across those states Friday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. That included more than half of the utility customers in Orleans Parish, where New Orleans is located, and more than 70% of those in adjacent Jefferson Parish, where parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng estimated as many as 400 trees blocked roadways after the storm.

“You will see throughout the parish there are trees that were broken right in half, there are trees that were completely uprooted, there are many places where trees are on our roadways," Lee Sheng told weather.com in a phone call Friday afternoon. “Very messy outside with a lot of tree limbs down, but our citizens are out there cleaning up their property today.”

She said residents were being asked to limit flushing toilets, doing laundry and taking showers due to the stress power outages put on the wastewater system.

The town of Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish saw some of the worst damage. Some homes there were missing roofs and the town's levee was breached in three different spots.

Dodie Vegas, who with her husband owns Bridge Side Marina on Grand Isle, said damage was minimal at their waterside complex of cabins, campgrounds and docking facilities, but the rest of the island wasn’t so lucky.

“As far as you can see, going down the island, the power lines are cracked in half,” Vegas told the Associated Press. “The middle of the island looks like a bomb was dropped.”

(MORE: Hurricane Zeta Power Outages Complicate Voting in The South)

In all, more than 339,000 outages were still being reported Friday afternoon in Louisiana. The other remaining widespread outages included more than 272,000 in Georgia; 245,000 in Alabama; 163,000 in Mississippi; and 145,000 in North Carolina.

Entergy New Orleans chief executive David Ellis said most of the outages there should be restored over the weekend, according to nola.com. More than 1,100 poles and nearly 200 transformers were damaged.

Edwards said repairs were complicated by the outages in the other states hit by Zeta, as well as hundreds of thousands of ongoing outages in Oklahoma and Texas due to Winter Storm Billy.

At least six people died during Zeta's wrath. In Louisiana, a 55-year-old New Orleans man was electrocuted by low-hanging power lines. In Mississippi, a man taking video of the storm in Biloxi drowned at a marina, the Sun Herald reported. In Georgia, three people died after trees fell on their homes. One person also died in Alabama when a tree fell on a home, the AP reported.

The storm was the fifth to make landfall in Louisiana this year. About 3,000 people displaced by Hurricane Laura in August are still being sheltered in hotels, Edwards said. Another 100 or so were still evacuated due to Hurricane Delta earlier this month. About two dozen were in a local shelter after Zeta.

Some areas hit hard by previous storms have been without power for more than two months. On top of that, the state is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our heart breaks because this has been a tough, tough year,” Edwards said.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

Zeta Leaves 6 People Dead, Millions in the Dark

 Ron Brackett

Published: October 30, 2020

More than 2 million homes and businesses were still without power Thursday evening after Zeta, which came ashore Wednesday in Louisiana as a strong Category 2 hurricane, wreaked havoc across seven states Thursday.

The storm ripped off roofs, knocked down power lines and trees and flooded streets as it roared through Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia early Thursday. Heavy rain and winds also pounded eastern Tennessee and the Carolinas throughout the day.

At the height of the outages, more than 2.6 million homes and businesses were without power. In Georgia alone, more than 550,000 customers remained without electricity as of 5:30 p.m. according to poweroutage.us., after the number reached more than 1 million earlier. Alabama had more than 414,000, and Louisiana was reporting about 444,000 outages. More than 300,000 remained without power in North Carolina and South Carolina reported more than 125,000 customers without electricity. More than 55,000 outages were reported in Virginia.

At least six people died in the storm. In Louisiana, a 55-year-old New Orleans man was electrocuted by low-hanging power lines. In Mississippi, a man taking video of the storm in Biloxi drowned at a marina, the Sun Herald reported. In Georgia, three people died after trees fell on their homes. One person also died in Alabama when a tree fell on a home, the Associated Press reported.

(WATCH: Jim Cantore Surprised by Waves in Parking Garage)

The storm made landfall about 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday near Cocodrie in Terrebonne Parish and moved over New Orleans with howling winds and driving rain. Here's a look at some of the impacts of the storm state by state.

The Carolinas

In North and South Carolina, hundreds of trees were toppled, knocking power out to more than a half-million homes and businesses.

The city of Greenville, South Carolina, said it had received more than 50 reports of downed trees before 10 a.m. Many of those were blocking roads.

In neighboring Spartanburg County, the town of Landrum was hit especially hard.

"We had lots of wind damage with trees down. There's been trees down with a lot of damage to homes. Highway 14 was blocked by a downed tree and power line. We are busy getting the trees cleared," Landrum Mayor Robert Briggs told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

Interstate 26 near Landrum also was closed because of a downed tree, Spartanburg County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Bryson said.

"There are trees and power lines down everywhere. We are doing the best we can. There are hundreds of roads that are closed," Bryson told the Herald-Journal.

To the east, York County also reported trees blocking roads throughout the county.

In Statesville, North Carolina, a mail carrier escaped injury when a tree smashed his mail truck.

“Thank goodness John, our mail carrier, is okay. He was leaning out of his truck delivering mail when a tree fell on him. This is in the Eastbrook neighborhood in Statesville,” said James Hogan in a Twitter post.

Flooding was reported in Lenoir after almost 2 inches of rain fell in Caldwell County. Nearly three inches of rain was recorded around Morganton in Burke County, with almost two inches of rain being reported in Lenoir and Caldwell County. Charlotte's rain totals were much lower with the biggest impact of the storm being high winds and damaging gusts.

In Asheville, flooding forced residents of a mobile home park to evacuate when 2 feet of water washed through.

"Got up about 6:30, the water was still in the banks; by 7:30 it started coming out in the yards," John Collins, a resident of the Fernwood Mobile Home Park, told WLOS. "It took out some underpinning, washed out the foundation."

Georgia

A man died in Cherokee County when a large oak tree uprooted and fell through the corner of a mobile home in Acworth, Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said. Two other adults and a child were in the home at the time of the incident but weren't injured, the AP reported.

Two adults were killed in Buford in Gwinnett County when a tree crashed into their home and pinned them to their bed, Gwinnett Fire and Rescue spokesman Tommy Rutledge told WXIA-TV.

Zeta put Atlanta under a tropical storm warning for the second time ever. Its first warning was in 2017 when Hurricane Irma roared into Florida as a deadly Category 4 storm.

And Zeta delivered. The storm downed trees and power lines across northern Georgia. At one point Thursday, more than 1 million homes and businesses had their power knocked out.

Georgia Power said its website and mobile app were overwhelmed with high volumes of traffic.

A large tree fell on a vehicle on Arnold Mill Road in Cherokee County, Georgia, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, as Tropical Storm Zeta roared across the South.

Several school districts either moved classes fully online or canceled classes all together Thursday. Many planned to remain closed Friday, including Fulton County, where 40 schools had no power, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

First responders had to rescue an Atlanta man pinned to his bed when a large tree fell into his bedroom. The man had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, according to a fire department spokesman.

Trees were down across the state blocking dozens of roads, including Interstate 20 in Fulton County and in Dekalb County.

In Gwinnett County, a fallen tree closed I-985 South between Buford Drive and I-85, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

At least 15 counties delayed opening their early voting sites because of Zeta, the Georgia Recorder reported. Three of the counties reported outages in at least one location, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. Douglas County said all six of its early voting locations were without electricity.

“We’re still assessing the situation, and obviously some counties will be delaying early voting this morning, but we don’t see there will be an overall impact to voting at this time because we still have early voting for the balance of today and tomorrow and obviously the full election on Tuesday,” Raffensperger said.

(MORE: Outages Complicate Voting in the South)

Locations without power Thursday evening will likely make up for the lost time by extending their hours into the evening, he said.

Louisiana

More than 1,900 National Guard personnel were helping with clean up and recovery, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in an afternoon news briefing. Some 5,500 linemen were working to restore power and more will arrive this weekend, Edwards said.

"The good news is the storm's forward speed was 24 mph so it moved through the area much faster than most storms and as a result, it didn't drop as much rain, the high winds didn't pound the area as much as would otherwise have been the case," Edwards said. "However there's significant damage to homes, to businesses, to infrastructure throughout southeast Louisiana. We know it caused vessels to be thrown about and into bridges that have to be inspected and damage has to be repaired."

More than 80% of customers in Jefferson Parish were without power, according to Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng.

Overturned trailers sit along LA-46 after Hurricane Zeta on Oct. 29, 2020, in Reggio, Louisiana.

Edwards said more than 3,300 evacuees were in hotels and shelters, but nearly all of them were from hurricanes Laura and Delta which previously hit the state.

Zeta was the fifth tropical system to make landfall in the state this season.

About 25 people had to evacuate when Zeta caused part of an apartment building to collapse near Gretna in Jefferson Parish, WDSU reported. One person was injured.

One person was taken to the hospital after a roof collapsed on a building in New Orleans, The Advocate reported. The lights went out on Bourbon Street.

Thursday morning, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge was closed in both directions because of the severe weather, the state Department of Transportation announced.

Video on WDSU from Grand Isle, a barrier island in Jefferson Parish, showed large homes with their roofs torn off, a crumpled gas station canopy and downed utility poles and wires.

"We're really getting beat. We're looking at wind over 100 (mph) for sure," Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle said in an interview with WDSU as Zeta's eyewall moved over the island.

The Jefferson Parish government posted an image on Twitter showing three breaches in Grand Isle's levee, known as the "burrito levee" because it's a large roll of plastic filled with sand. The levee was severely damaged by Cristobal at the beginning of the hurricane season and work continued through the summer to shore it up.

The Jefferson Parish government posted an image on Twitter showing three breaches in Grand Isle's levee, known as the "burrito levee."

In St. Bernard Parish, the Chalmette Ferry broke free from its mooring and was lodged under a dock at Chalmette Refining, WDSU reported.

"Zeta gave us a good punch," Parish President Guy McInnis told the station. "We were experiencing 120 mph gusts in the lower end of the parish and 90 to 105 in the upper end of the parish."

“We have multiple reports of people in distress with their roofs being blown off,” McInnis said. “We’re going to get out there as soon as we can.”

Terrebonne Parish officials said they had received several reports of downed power lines and utility poles.

"Please stay home and off roadways and highways until first responders can assess road conditions," the parish emergency management office said in a Facebook post.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, just to the east of where Zeta came ashore, said similar reports were coming in there. Public Information Officer Brennan Matherne shared video from the sheriff that showed a large boat washed on to a highway.

Four or five buildings collapsed in the southern part of the parish, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson told WDSU. He said a wind gust to 136 mph was recorded by an anemometer on a boat in the parish.

A video from Plaquemines Parish showed debris from a destroyed mobile home blowing across a road. The Sheriff's Office said it had received numerous reports of down trees, power lines and utility poles throughout the parish.

Mississippi

Leslie Richardson, 58, of Theodore, Alabama, was watching Zeta come ashore in Biloxi when the storm surge rolled in. He tried to leave but his car was surrounded by water and began to float, according to AL.com.

Richardson called 911 about 7:30 p.m., but rescuers were unable to reach him because the water on U.S. Highway 90 was already higher than the hoods of their military-style vehicles, AL.com reported. He told dispatchers he was going to leave the car and try to reach high ground.

About two hours later, a hotel guest reported seeing a man in the water. The caller tried to resuscitate him.

Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said he pronounced Richardson dead at the scene.

In addition to the death, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported multiple injuries in Harrison County.

A large boat sits on U.S. Highway 90 in Long Beach, Mississippi, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, after Hurricane Zeta roared through the state.

In Pass Christian, U.S. Highway 90, which crosses Bay St. Louis, was covered with water, according to Harrison County Emergency Management Director Rupert Lacy. The surge also lifted boats onto the highway.

“We’ve got a mess,” Pass Christian Mayor Chip McDermott said while surveying the damage Thursday morning, “a total mess. It’s pitiful.”

“I’ve never seen so many trees down and the harbor looks like Pearl Harbor,” McDermott told the Sun Herald. “It’s sickening. It’s going to take six months to get cleaned up. This is awful.”

Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said, “I shudder to think what it would of been like if it had not been moving as quickly as it had.”

On the eastern side of the county, cars in a parking garage at a casino in Biloxi floated like toys in the surge. The Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore said the storm surge was likely 8 feet in Biloxi. He said it was 8.2 feet in Bay St. Louis.

Multiple semitractor-trailers were knocked over on Interstate 10 near Bay St. Louis, according to stormchaser Aaron Jayjack.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol said eastbound 1-10 over the Pascagoula River had to be closed because of an overturned semi.

Zeta's strong winds ripped the steeple off Bay Vista Baptist Church in Biloxi.

"When I opened up the door, it just blew it right off," Jewell Thomas, the church's caretaker, told WLOX. "It was amazing that it didn’t do any more damage than what it’s done."

In Lucedale, the steeple of the Rocky Creek Baptist Church toppled over and pierced another part of the building.

The storm also severely damaged the roof of a historic African American gathering place in Bay St. Louis. About a quarter of the roof of the 100 Men Hall was ripped off, WLOX reported.

Former Bay St. Louis Mayor Les Fillingame said the storm was “very intense” when it blew through.

“It was a noisy storm. It was a truly howling wind,” he told the AP, but he added it was also fast-moving. “It was a lot of wind for several hours which is enough.”

The National Weather Service reported trees down on houses in Forrest County and Lamar County.

Alabama

Gov. Kay Ivey said in a tweet, "Zeta proved to be an intense storm! Folks are without power and trees are down all across AL. Please use caution if you head to work this morning, and stay off the roads if possible. Let’s give the utility workers and first responders patience and space to do their work!"

In Elmore County, the Emergency Management Agency declared all county-maintained roads and bridges impassable until further notice, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

Officials in Chilton County, Dallas County and Etowah County reported lots of downed trees and blocked roads.

Two schools were damaged in Autauga County, the Advertiser reported.

The storm surge was causing flooding in Mobile, Alabama, late Wednesday night.

Trees fell on a house and cars on Dauphin Island at about 9:15 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Rushing water closed the Dauphin Island Causeway. Mobile Fire Rescue conducted a water rescue on the causeway at the Dog River Bridge.

The police chief of Greenville reported that many roads in the city were impassable because of downed trees and power lines.

The city of Citronelle in Mobile County sustained "major damage," according to Mayor Jason Stringer.

"Stay home and off the roads please. We have people hurt that we are trying to help them and we do not need anyone else hurt. Please, Please Stay Home!!!" Stringer said in a Facebook post.

The city of Orange Beach continued to fly double red flags meaning the ocean was off limits because of dangerous currents. However, the beach remained open. The city said it had no reports of damage and the streets were clear.

Many school districts that had planned to provide online classes only canceled all classes because of power outages.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

What to Do If You're Without Power for Days

 Rachel Delia Benaim

Published: October 29, 2020

Power outages bring with them a slew of questions: How can I charge my phone? Can I save the food in my refrigerator? weather.com has some answers.

If the power goes out, turn off and unplug all unnecessary electrical equipment, including sensitive electronics and turn off and disconnect any appliances (like stoves), equipment or electronics you were using. When power comes back on, surges or spikes can damage equipment. But leave at least one light turned on so you’ll know when the power comes back on.

How can I charge my phone?

Often during power outages, folks rely on their phones for information (and entertainment). This requires battery power. Here’s how to conserve phone battery and charge your phone when there’s no electricity and it’s unclear when it will return:

First and foremost, preserve energy. There are a few ways to do this without hindering your access to essential apps and information on your phone.

-Turn off applications automatically running in the background of your smartphone like Wifi (it’s not going to work if there’s no electricity), Bluetooth and Wifi assist, for starters.

-Disable location services. Location services use a large percentage of battery power and is an easy way to save energy.

-Turn down the brightness on your phone.

-Use your phone’s standard messenger app instead of other messaging applications.

When your power starts running low, you have a few options to charge your phone:

-Use your laptop or computer as a power source. Use your USB charger and plug it into your desktop computer or laptop. It will charge slightly slower than through a wall charge but it gets the job done.

-Use your car as a power source. The interiors of newer cars usually have phone charging ports, while older vehicles often have a cigarette lighter that electronics can plug into. Much like you would charge your phone while driving, you can turn on your car and charge your phone during a power outage. Make sure you open your garage and move your car outdoors while you’re doing this, as the carbon monoxide exhaust from your car in an enclosed space could be fatal.

-You could also try at-home hacks based on YouTube videos (which we will write out so you don’t have to use extra power to play the videos): 

Use two silver coins, a slip of paper, a USB charger and a paper clip to charge your phone without electricity:

-Insert part of the paperclip into the USB section of the wider side charger. Then slip the paper between the paperclip and the USB. Put one silver coin on one side of the paperclip, ensuring it touches the paperclip. Then put the other coin on the other side. The phone will begin charging. Keep the coins in place to ensure efficient charging.  [Tutorial video here] 

Use tape, a pen spring and a car charger to charge your phone without electricity:

-Take the spring from a pen and take it against a car charger. Make sure the spring is sitting against one of the metal bars on the side of the charge, and that the end of the spring runs parallel to the part of the charger that would be inserted into the car. Then plug the USB cord into the charger. Take the 9v battery and line it up with the spring and the charger, the spring fitting comfortably into the negative side of the battery and the car charger sitting against the positive side of the battery. Then plug in your phone. Ensure the battery stays in place as long as needed. [Tutorial video here]

Can I save the perishable food in my fridge and freezer?

First, make sure to note at what time your power went out so you can keep track of the potential impact it’ll have on your refrigerated food.

Do not open the fridge or freezer – or if you must, make it quick and infrequent. This way, the cool air will be stored inside for as long as possible – maybe even until the power comes back on. The Food Safety Council of Australia has a detailed explanation of food safety in these types of situations. Many foods last longer than you might think, too. Food like poultry, meat, seafood and ready-to-eat perishable food, will last for up to two hours in the fridge. After this, they should be placed in alternative refrigeration (in your freezer if there is room) or consumed immediately. If you keep your fridge sealed and it has a thermometer, there may be other possible calculations to save your food.

As far as frozen food goes, you might be in luck. If you have a functional freezer that operates at 2 degrees or colder, your food will be safe in the (closed) freezer for between one and two days.

How can I keep my home cool?

-Close all drapes and blinds on the sunny side of your home.

-Closing off the warmest rooms to ensure the hot air to seep into the rest of the house.

-Hanging moist sheets and towels throughout the house, as the ancient Egyptians did, will cool things down as the water evaporates.

-Heat rises, so sleep downstairs or put your mattress on the floor if the air feels cooler down there.

-Let the night air in. Crack windows before you go to bed.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.