The storm is set to disrupt oil production and if it lashes southern US states it could create fresh records for the number of hurricane landfalls that have taken place in the US.

BP on Sunday said it has begun to evacuate four offshore US Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and secure facilities after the Tropical storm Zeta sprang up in the Caribbean Sea.

In Mexico, there is a hurricane warning for the tourist resorts of Cozumel and Tulum, as well as their surrounding areas.

Zeta is expected to cause a “dangerous storm surge” and raise water levels by as much as 1-3 feet above normal tide levels when it hits the Yucatan Peninsula, NHC warned.

As well as lashing Mexico, Zeta is expected to bring heavy rainfall across portions of central and western Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, southern Florida and the Keys, NHC said.

Forecasting that Zeta would be at or just below hurricane strength when it approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday, NHC said: “there is an increasing risk of storm surge, rainfall, and wind impacts from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle”.

Zeta is about 442.6km from the island of Cozumel in Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 80.5km per hour, NHC added.