Hurricane Zeta Remnants On Track To Soak Portions Of NC

CHARLOTTE, NC — The remnants of Hurricane Zeta are expected to dump inches of rain on portions of North Carolina after it hits the Gulf Coast Wednesday. Areas of western North Carolina could see up to 6 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm was about 300 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning. It's expected to hit somewhere on the coastline between Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle around midday with 75 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The weakening storm will then barrel northeast across the U.S., arriving in North Carolina by Wednesday night, meteorologists said.

"The remnants of Zeta and an approaching cold front will bring periods of moderate to heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and the chance of severe storms to portions of the state," North Carolina Emergency Management said Wednesday. "While western NC will see off and on showers today, the greatest impacts to NC are expected tonight [through] Thursday night."

Here is the National Weather Service's forecast through the weekend:

Today (Oct. 28)
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Light south wind. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 9 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Thursday (Oct. 29)
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10am, then showers likely between 10am and noon, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Breezy, with a southwest wind 16 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, then a chance of showers between 8pm and 5am, then a slight chance of rain after 5am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. South southwest wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday (Oct. 30)
A 20 percent chance of rain before 10am. Sunny, with a high near 65. North northwest wind 7 to 11 mph.
Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 43.
Saturday (Oct. 31)
Sunny, with a high near 59.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Sunday (Nov. 1)
Partly sunny, with a high near 63.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 38.

Adam Nichols, Patch Staff, contributed