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.