Hurricane Iota Becomes 2020’s Strongest Hurricane; Threatens Central America. From its vantage point roughly 22,300 miles above the Earth, the GOES-East satellite captured this GeoColor and GLM lightning composite image loop of powerful Hurricane Iota making its way toward Central America on Nov. 16, 2020.

With increasing global surface temperatures the possibility of more droughts and increased intensity of storms will likely occur. As more water vapor is evaporated into the atmosphere it becomes fuel for more powerful storms to develop.

Hurricane Laura

2020 Atlantic Storm Names

• Tropical Storm Arthur. May 16, 2020 – Tropical Storm Arthur forms about 190 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• Tropical Storm Bertha.
• Tropical Storm Cristobal.
• Tropical Storm Dolly.
• Tropical Storm Edouard.
• Tropical Storm Fay.
• Tropical Storm Gonzalo.
• Hurricane Hanna.

May 21, 2020 An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected, according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 2020 will be an above-average hurricane season, with six to 10 hurricanes. NOAA expects three to six to be Category 3 or higher, with sustained wind speeds above 110 miles per hour.

The first tropical cyclone of the 1938 Atlantic hurricane season, which formed on January 3, became the earliest forming tropical storm and hurricane after reanalysis concluded on the storm in December 2012.

As of Saturday, this 2020 season has produced 23 named storms, including two using the Greek alphabet for only the second time in history. 15 hurricanes formed, the most in a single season, breaking a record set in 1969. Eight hurricanes have formed in 2020.

The 1900 Galveston Hurricane is known as the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. The storm is said to have caused at least 8,000 deaths, and by some reports as many as 12,000. The second deadliest storm was the Hurricane of Lake Okeechobee in 1928, with approximately 2,500 causalities.

The 2020 season will likely bring from 19 to 25 named storms, said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. That figure includes the nine storms that have already been named. “We’ve never forecast up to 25 storms,” Bell said in a telephone briefing about the new forecast.

17 named storms

Theta — the 29th named storm of the Atlantic season — breaks the record for the highest number of tropical/subtropical storms in a single year. The previous record of 28 storms was set in 2005. Official records date to 1851.

Extra-warm ocean waters, boosted by climate change, and La Niña are key drivers in historic season. By late spring, the consensus among experts was unsettlingly clear: 2020 would be an abnormally active hurricane season.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center does not control the naming of tropical storms. Instead, there is a strict procedure established by the World Meteorological Organization. For Atlantic hurricanes, there is a list of male and female names which are used on a six-year rotation.

The National Hurricane Center named Tropical Storm Theta early on Tuesday, pushing the 2020 hurricane season to a record-breaking 29 named storms.

When two hurricanes collide, the phenomenon is called the Fujiwhara effect. If two cyclones pass within 900 miles of each other, they can start to orbit. If the two storms get to within 190 miles of each other, they’ll collide or merge. This can turn two smaller storms into one giant one.

The right side of a storm is often referred to as its “dirty side” or “the bad side” — either way, it’s not where you want to be. In general, it’s the storm’s more dangerous side. The “right side” of a storm is in relation to the direction it is moving, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Hurricane Quadrant 1

The bottom-left side is considered the weakest section of a hurricane but can still produce dangerous winds. These winds are coming from off-shore and wrapping around the backside of the hurricane’s eye, so the friction with land has helped them weaken some.