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Hurricane Delta Makes Landfall; Alabama at Ole Miss Still on for Saturday

Major Hurricane Delta is turning toward the U.S. coast and is expected to hit Louisiana on Friday

Christopher Walsh

Hurricane Delta Makes Landfall; Alabama at Ole Miss Still on for Saturday
Hurricane Delta Makes Landfall; Alabama at Ole Miss Still on for Saturday /

Hurricane Delta made landfall near Creole, La., at approximately 6 p.m. Friday. 

Estimated maximum sustained winds were still at 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane. It was a Category 3 until 1 p.m. Friday.

The Hurricane Center expects Delta to continue along the same path until Saturday morning and then move to the northeast, through the state of Mississippi and near where Alabama will play Ole Miss In Oxford at 6:30 p.m.

However, the storm will weaken as it does.

Why the SEC Pushed Alabama at Ole Miss Kickoff Back 

As Hurricane Delta began to pound the Golf Coast nearly a day before landfall, the SEC announced that Saturday's kickoff time for Alabama at Ole Miss has been pushed back from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

On face value, Thursday's announcement didn't make much sense. Most forecasts showed that the heart of the storm was expected to be so close to Oxford, Miss., during the game that it could could be counted in the attendance at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field.

It's because the worst part of the storm is expected to be on the front end, or as the SEC said in its release: "The change in start time was made to provide a forecast for better game conditions." 

As of 1 a.m. Friday morning, the storm was a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds. 

Per the National Weather Service: 

"Delta is moving toward the northern Gulf Coast, where life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds are likely beginning Friday. Storm surge and hurricane warnings remain in effect. Significant flooding is also likely from the central Gulf Coast into the lower Mississippi Valley. As Delta moves further inland, heavy rainfall will develop in the Ohio Valley and Mid Atlantic."

Even with the later kickoff, Alabama will still be playing in rain. However, the forecast for Oxford goes from heavy and torrential downpours, and high winds, in the middle of the day to showers and thundershowers in the evening, with winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. 

A later kickoff improves the chances of getting the game finished Saturday night, which is ideal for Alabama since it has a showdown with Georgia next week. 

Not having a packed stadium or Grove also helps as  Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will only allow up to 25 percent of its maximum capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic. The stadium seats up to 64,038 fans but will hold a maximum of 16,009 (some of whom will obviously elect to stay home).  

First Coastal Watches, Warnings Issued

Hurricane Delta started to regain strength after pulling away from the Yucatan peninsula, returning to Category 2 intensity as it began crossing the Gulf of Mexico early Thursday morning. 

The storm is expected to landfall along the Louisiana coast on Friday, in the same area recently ravaged by Hurricane Laura in late August. 

Projections had it in the Oxford, Miss., area around the time the second half of Alabama at Ole Miss is slated to start. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m, however the Southeastern Conference announced that it's examining other potential options.

"I think we’re going to make everybody’s best effort to play the game on Saturday," Nick Saban said during his usual Wednesday press briefing, but added that he expected to have a better feel for things Thursday. 

The Missouri at LSU game has already been moved to Columbia, Mo.

Per The Weather Channel: 

• A storm surge watch is in effect from High Island, Texas, to Sabine Pass, Texas and also east of Ocean Springs, Mississippi to the Mississippi-Alabama border. This watch means a dangerous, life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland is possible within 48 hours.

• Tropical storm warnings are in effect from San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass, Texas; east of Morgan City, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Pearl River, including New Orleans, and for Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas. This means tropical storm-force winds are expected within the next 36 hours.

• A tropical storm watch extends east of the mouth of the Pearl River to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This means tropical storm-force winds are possible.

LSU Game Moved to Missouri 

The Southeastern Conference made it official Wednesday morning, moving this week's Missouri at LSU football game scheduled for Baton Rouge to Columbia due to Hurricane Delta.

The game will kick off at 11 am CT on Saturday on an ESPN platform to be announced.

"Due to the pending impact of Hurricane Delta on Louisiana and the surrounding area, it is in the best interest for the safety of everyone involved to move the game to Columbia," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a release. "It was critical to relocate the game to an SEC campus where SEC COVID-19 management protocols are in place and readily applied. I appreciate the cooperation of the schools who are working closely to make the appropriate operational adjustments in order to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes while accommodating this change in the schedule."

The SEC added that it continues to monitor the path of Hurricane Delta and remains in communication with member schools to evaluate its potential impact on other athletic events this week.

Alabama is set to visit Ole Miss at 5 p.m. Saturday. 

The latest projections have the storm in the middle of Mississippi on Saturday afternoon, although it'll obviously weaken after achieving landfall.

With winds easing to 110 mph, Hurricane Delta made landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday morning. It's expected to strengthen and grow much larger as it moves north to the US Gulf Coast over the coming days.

Hurricane Delta a dangerous Category 4 storm

Hurricane Delta was still considered a dangerous Category 4 storm, with winds at 130 mph, as it closed in on Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula early Wednesday morning. 

It continued to churn toward the northern U.S. Gulf Coast, where it's expected to strike beginning late Friday.

Per the National Weather Service, Delta is still expected be a formidable and larger hurricane at landfall along the Louisiana coast.  Storm surge and hurricane watches are expected to be issued on Wednesday. The governors of Alabama and Louisiana declared states of emergency Tuesday.

It its midnight update out of Jackson, Miss., the NWS warned of "high winds that could result in power  outages, heavy rainfall/flooding, and perhaps tornadoes. One thing to note is that there has been a bit of a westward shift, and  this places a greater focus for the heaviest rain potential over NW portions of the area where rainfall has been up to 200% above normal in the past 30 days."

According to numerous reports, including the Baton Rouge Advocate, the Missouri at LSU football game has been moved to Columbia. Kickoff was originally scheduled for 8 p.m. CT, but it has been moved up to 11 a.m. at Missouri's Faurot Field.

Ironically, LSU has never played at Missouri. Even though Missouri joined the SEC in 2012, the teams have only met three times in their history.

The SEC was waiting until Wednesday morning to make a formal announcement, on the off-chance the storm conditions might change

Rain and high winds are expected for the Alabama at Ole Miss game, scheduled for 5 p.m. (ESPN). 

Hurricane Delta Rapidly Intensifies to Category 4; SEC Paying Close Attention 

Hurricane Delta strengthened faster than expected Tuesday, with the National Weather Service's latest update at 10:20 a.m. CT indicating that it was already a dangerous category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.

Projections also now have the storm slowing down after it eventually reaches the northern U.S. Gulf Coast late this week. The storm is expected to travel through the state of Mississippi on Saturday, and be just north of Tuscaloosa at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Alabama is scheduled to play at Ole Miss at 5 p.m, Saturday. 

The Weather Channel's latest forecast for Oxford, Miss. is for heavy rain and winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph.

The SEC announced Tuesday morning that it was "monitoring weather activity in the Gulf of Mexico and will remain in contact with member schools in preparation for athletics events this week."

Hurricane Delta Strengthens to Category 2 

Hurricane Delta continued to strengthen overnight, with winds reaching 100 mph, and was upgraded to a Category 2 storm Tuesday morning. 

It's expected to reach Category 3 status later today, and make an initial landfall near the Yucatan Peninsula. 

From there, Delta is expected to continue to the northwest, and enter the Gulf of Mexico. 

Sometime over the next two days it’ll likely reach Category 4 status.

Delta will likely strike the northern U.S. Gulf Coast late this week.

The National Western Service in New Orleans posted "A curve to the north is expected later this week, which may likely lead to impacts across portions of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi."

The forecasted path has it in Mississippi on Saturday afternoon, and approaching the Alabama border west of Tuscaloosa by 2 a.m. Sunday morning. 

Alabama is scheduled to play at Ole Miss at 5 p.m. Per the The Weather Channel, the forecast for Oxford is for possible heavy rain, with winds 10 to 15 mph.

Delta strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane Monday.

Update: Delta Upgraded to Hurricane

Tropical Storm Delta was upgraded to Hurricane Delta on Monday evening as the storm was classified as Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds at 75 mph.

The hurricane is still expected to intensify while moving through the lower Gulf of Mexico over the next couple of days, and then turn more northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. 

The projected storm path as it in eastern Mississippi, somewhere in the Meridian-Starkville area at 2 p.m. Saturday. 

Alabama is slated to play at Ole Miss, just north of there, at 5 p.m. 

"Tropical Storm Delta is intensifying"

It's 2020, and we're all exhausted from what's been a brutal year, but Southeastern Conference college football fans have another thing to worry about this week.

There's yet another tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, and this one appears to be heading right for us. 

To quote The Weather Channel, because they're the experts, "Tropical Storm Delta is intensifying in the Caribbean Sea, could brush or strike the Cayman Islands and western Cuba, then poses an increasing hurricane danger to the U.S. Gulf Coast by late this week."

The storm is expected to become a hurricane soon, and intensify rapidly, reaching Category 3 status. 

While it's too early to project potential impact from Delta on the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is already had a rough year. The region has already been hit by hurricanes Hanna, Laura and Sally, and affected by tropical storms Marco and Beta.

As of Monday afternoon, the projections had it eventually striking coastal Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle. It has the potential to impact three SEC games: Florida at Texas A&M, Missouri at LSU, and Alabama at Ole Miss. 

The early weather forecast in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday is for rain and extremely windy conditions. There's an 90 percent chance of rain, with 30 mph winds and 92 percent humidity.

The SEC is playing a 10-game conference-only schedule this season, with each team having a bye. Both Alabama and Ole Miss have their bye on the same Saturday, Nov. 7. 

SEC Schedule for Oct. 10

South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 11 a.m., SEC Network

Florida at Texas A&M, 11 a.m., ESPN

Missouri vs. LSU, 11 a.m., SEC Network Alternative

Tennessee at Georgia, 2:30 p.m. CBS

Arkansas at Auburn 3 p.m., ESPN 

Alabama at Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN

Mississippi State at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network

This story will be continually updated throughout the week

Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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