Eye on the Tropics

2020 Hurricane season: 10 storms have struck the U.S., 5 of which have been hurricanes (including imminent Delta)

By Irene Sans, WFTV.com
By Irene Sans, WFTV.com

ORLANDO, Fla. — We’ve forecast the season was going to be a very busy 2020 since before the season started. Tropical storms started to form before the season officially started and have continued to be constant throughout the season.

Besides knowing that conditions were going to be favorable for more tropical development, we also knew that the Bermuda High was going to be stronger and that there were more chances of high-pressure systems to be centered over the U.S. which would more likely make storms swing toward the Americas, especially toward the U.S.

There have been 25 named systems this season, and 10 named tropical systems have hit the U.S. Out of the nine hurricanes that have formed so far (until Oct. 8), five of them have struck the U.S., this is counting Delta as it is forecast to make landfall in Louisiana on Friday.

Historically, September is the busiest month; this is when the peak of the season occurs, too. But in September 2020, there were many records set. Not only did we have Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, Wilfred, Alpha, and Beta as earliest named storms for each of their initials, but those 10 storms were named in one month!

Visit our hurricane section: EYE ON THE TROPICS

PHOTOS: 2020 Hurricane Delta, in Mexico and preparations across the northern Gulf Coast

To put this into perspective, on average, the hurricane season has 12 named storms. September 2020 had 10. So if you think you were tropically fatigued, you are rightfully so.

If we zoom in closer, and to verify the forecast ahead of the end of the hurricane season, many storms have struck around the states along the Gulf Coast.

The first storm to make landfall in the U.S. was Tropical Storm Bertha in South Carolina.

Hurricane Isaías made landfall in North Carolina during early August, triggering a robust tornado outbreak; 109 tornado warnings were issued across 12 states. It also left flooding and deaths in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Read: NOAA Forecasters highly confident about an active 2020 Hurricane Season

In Texas, Hurricane Hanna hit the southern coast. Tropical Storm Beta hit Matagorda Bay on September 22. It traveled slowly across southeastern Texas, causing major flooding in bayous and leaving one dead.

Tropical Storm Marco made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana two days before Laura made landfall in Cameron, Louisiana.

Gulf Shores, Alabama, was directly hit by Category 2 Hurricane Sally. Wind and flooding damage extended all the way east to Pensacola, Florida.

In Florida, Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in the Florida Panhandle in July.

The state of Louisiana has been the most affected state this hurricane season. Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in the beginning of June and Hurricane Laura struck the state in August. Laura made landfall in Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit this state since 1851.

We are currently monitoring Hurricane Delta which will become the tenth storm to strike the U.S. and the third named storm to hit Louisiana. Delta is forecast to make landfall on Friday just east of Cameron (close to where Hurricane Laura made landfall in August) as a strong category 2 hurricane. Major storm surge is forecast across eastern Louisiana and extending eastward as the storm is becoming larger.

Nota en español: Temporada de Huracanes 2020: Pronosticadores altamente confiados en una temporada activa

Forecast Track

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Visite la sección en español: Temporada de huracanes

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