The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season was extremely active and costly. The season produced 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes, and six major hurricanes. Property damage estimates for the 2020 season are approaching $45 billion.

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season had many other notable statistics:

• This was the most active hurricane season on record and the seventh costliest on record
• Tropical Storm Arthur formed on May 14, more than two weeks before Atlantic Hurricane Season officially began
• Every named storm this season except three (Arthur, Bertha, and Dolly) set a record for the earliest named storm ever recorded
• Twelve named storms made a U.S. landfall (record)
• Ten named storms made landfall over South and Central America
• Five storms made landfall over Louisiana (record)
• Every mile of the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coast had been under a tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning, except for one single county (Wakulla County, Florida)
• Every month of hurricane season saw a storm make landfall in the U.S. meaning there were seven straight months of direct landfalls (record)
• Ten storms formed in the month of September, the most for any month on record
• During the peak of the season, there were five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic at the same time (Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy and Vicky) for only the second time in recorded history
• Ten storms underwent rapid intensification by strengthening 35 mph or more in 24 hours (tied record)
• Major Hurricane Iota was the latest forming Category 5 Hurricane on record and only the second Category 5 Hurricane to form in the month of November after Major Hurricane Eta
• Major Hurricane Laura and Delta made landfall within 15 miles of each other over the state of Louisiana
• Major Hurricane Eta and Iota made landfall within 15 miles of each other over the country of Nicaragua
• NOAA Hurricane Hunters flew 86 missions with nearly 700 flight hours logged (record)

The 12 named storms that made landfall on U.S. territory:

Storm Name                                    Impacted State(s)                           

Tropical Storm Bertha                    Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Tropical Storm Cristobal                Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

Tropical Storm Fay                          U.S. East Coast from Florida to New England

Hurricane Hanna                             Texas

Hurricane Isaias                               U.S. East Coast from Florida to New England

Major Hurricane Laura                   Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

Hurricane Marco                              Louisiana

Hurricane Sally                                 Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

Tropical Storm Beta                        Louisiana, Texas

Major Hurricane Delta                    Louisiana, Texas

Hurricane Zeta                                 Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi

Major Hurricane Eta                        Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina

The impacts of the 12 U.S. landfalling storms:

Storm Name                                    Damages in U.S. Dollars     Lives Lost

Tropical Storm Bertha                    $130,000                              1

Tropical Storm Cristobal                $665 million                        15

Tropical Storm Fay                           $350 million                        6

Hurricane Hanna                              $875 million                        5

Hurricane Isaias                                $4.7 billion                          18

Major Hurricane Laura                   $14.1 billion                        77*

Hurricane Marco                              $35 million                          1

Hurricane Sally                                  $5 billion                              8

Tropical Storm Beta                         $400 million                        1

Major Hurricane Delta                    $4.2 billion                          6

Hurricane Zeta                                  $3.2 billion                          8

Major Hurricane Eta                  $6.7 billion                          216*

*Of the 77 fatalities as a result of Major Hurricane Laura, 35 occurred in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and 42 within the U.S. Of the 216 fatalities as a result of Major Hurricane Eta, 205 occurred in Central America and 11 within the U.S.

The complete list of the named storms in 2020:

Storm Name                             Storm Dates                Top Wind Speed (MPH)

Tropical Storm Arthur              May 16-19                       60

Tropical Storm Bertha*            May 27-28                       50

Tropical Storm Cristobal*           June 1-9                        60

Tropical Storm Dolly              June 22-24                          45

Tropical Storm Edouard           July 4-6                            45

Tropical Storm Fay*               July 9-11                            60

Tropical Storm Gonzalo           July 21-25                        65

Hurricane Hanna*                         July 23-27                   90

Hurricane Isaias*                        July 30-August 5             85

Tropical Storm Josephine          August 11-16                   45

Tropical Storm Kyle                August 14-16                   50

Major Hurricane Laura*          August 20-28                  150

Hurricane Marco*                  August 20-25                   75

Hurricane Nana                       September 1-4                75

Tropical Storm Omar             August 31-September 5    40

Hurricane Paulette                 September 7-22            105

Tropical Storm Rene              September 7-14             50

Hurricane Sally*                      September 11-17         105

Major Hurricane Teddy            September 12-22         140

Tropical Storm Vicky                 September 14-17          50

Tropical Storm Wilfred                September 18-20          40

Tropical Storm Alpha                September 18                 50

Tropical Storm Beta*             September 17-22          60

Tropical Storm Gamma            October 2-5                     70

Major Hurricane Delta*           October 4-10                  145

Major Hurricane Epsilon             October 19-26                115

Hurricane Zeta*                                 October 24-29                               110

Major Hurricane Eta*            October 31-November 13  150 

Tropical Storm Theta                November 10-15           70

Major Hurricane Iota                November 13-18           160

*Storms that made a U.S. landfall as noted above

A detailed map showing the track of all 30 named storms during the 2020 season can be reviewed HERE.

The NEMA Natural Disaster Team consisting of staff from the Field Representative Program, Communications and Brand Management, and Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFi) activated our Natural Disaster Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for six of the landfalling storms to coordinate NEMA activities in our effort to provide the most current guidance information and other resources to assist electrical professionals, emergency management officials, and community decision-makers on policies and best practices on the selection and installation of electrical products that are resilient to natural disasters and guidance on how to restore electrical systems after a natural disaster has passed.

NEMA staff utilized digital technology to maximize our outreach efforts by posting guidance information and links to the NEMA Storm Reconstruction Toolkit and the ESFi Disaster Safety webpage on our social media accounts and in email blasts out to industry contacts in the impacted states. We conducted several live training webinars and attended the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FEMA Office of Business, Industry, and Infrastructure Integration live stakeholder conferences.

Through our outreach, special attention on safe generator use was highlighted as we learned that 15 deaths were reported as a result of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning due to unsafe portable generator use. Special emphasis was also placed on avoiding downed power lines and making sure electrical equipment impacted by rain or floodwaters are properly evaluated for damage prior to reenergizing, using the NEMA GD 1-2019 Guide. We contacted several NEMA Member companies with facilities in the impacted states to offer guidance, intelligence from the field, and any other resources necessary to assist the staff and operations at those facilities.

The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season will begin on June 1, 2021, and runs through November 30, 2021.