Probably the dispersion or spread of landfalling clusters, along with the sheer number of landfalls, distinguishes 2020 from many other seasons, including those that featured numerous impacts. Very few seasons have featured hurricane impacts from South Texas (Hanna) to the Carolinas (Isaias), to not mention two or more hurricane strikes each on the Yucatán Peninsula (Delta, Zeta, probably Gamma) and Central America (Eta, Iota). Additionally, virtually every coastal state in the Union experienced at least some measurable impacts from tropical cyclones in 2020, with TS+ landfalls on every Gulf state save Mississippi, the Florida peninsula and Keys, the Carolinas, and even New Jersey (!). Only a relative handful of seasons such as 1893 and 1933 can be compared to 2020 in terms of these metrics. As mentioned previously, the ferocity of October/November puts 2020 in its own class—above all the occurrence of two Category-4+ landfalls in November. The only factor that really prevented 2020 from being absolutely historic was the absence of long-lived major hurricanes, primarily in the MDR: this caveat singlehandedly prevented this season from rivalling top-tier (read: top-five) seasons in terms of ACE. The following comparison of hyperactive seasons makes this abundantly clear.
YYYY...NS...MHD.......Ratio*......#TC w/ ≥ 1 MH(C4+) LF...1926...11...22.75....~207%.....4(
3)
1893...12...22.........~183%.....4(
1)
2004...15...22.25....~148%.....4(
1)
1961...12...16.........~133%.....2(
2)
1999...12...14.25....~119%.....3(
1)
2017...17...19.25....~113%.....3(
3)
1933...20...21.75....~109%.....4(
3)
2003...16...16.75....~105%.....0
1996...13...13..........100%......1
1950...16...15.5......~97%.......3(
1)
1932...15...13.........~87%.......4(
4)
1878...12...10.........~83%.......0
1964...13...9...........~69%.......1(
1)
1998...14...9.5........~68%.......1
1955...13...8.5........~65%.......2(
1)
2005...28...17.5......~63%.......5(
3)
1995...19...11.5......~61%.......3(
1)
2010...19...11.........~58%.......1
1886...12...4.5........~38%.......3(
1)
1887...19...6.75......~36%.......1
1969...18...6.5........~36%.......2(
1)
2020...30...8.75......~29%.......3(
3)
*Ratio of major hurricane days (MHD) to total named storms (NS)
Sources: A,
B,
CAs the data indicate, 2020
easily featured the least impressive output in terms of long-lived major hurricanes vs. total named storms. Many intense storms, to be sure,
did occur, as the near-record total of six MH suggests, but only in short, nearshore bursts, rather than sustain MH intensity for days on end. Of hyperactive seasons, 2020 generated the most lacklustre ratio of MHD vs. NS. Unfortunately, virtually all the MHD occurred within a few days of landfall(s) and often involved near-term intensification. This, too, makes 2020 unique in the dataset. Given the predominant steering currents, only the presence of a TUTT in the MDR during the peak of the season likely prevented 2020 from being absolutely apocalyptic in terms of devastation. Otherwise, the very strong subtropical ridge would have likely resulted in multiple Irma- or Isabel-type storms tracking generally westward toward land. Had that outcome taken place, then 2020 likely would have been similar to, say, 1893, 1926, and 2004—if not 2005 or 1933—in terms of ACE and could have easily tied or surpassed 1932’s record of four Category-4+ landfalling cyclones in the Atlantic basin.