FireRat wrote:It would be so 2020 to feature NOVEMBER as the worst month on record, with multiple majors including a CAT 5, like 1932 on crack.
It could be over soon, more likely, but what if we get the ultimate punk?
Honestly, I think 2020 could have been far worse to date, fortunately. Yes, we’ve seen many landfalls, including Laura, Sally, and Delta, but long-tracking majors, along with 2005- or 2017-level human and/or monetary losses, have been very “slim pickings” this year. Even the “big ones” of the year could have been more consequential than they’ve been, especially Sally and Delta, both of which I once expected to become Cat-4+ systems, the latter of which I suspected would attain Cat-5 status. Obviously, the CV season underperformed significantly relative to overall conditions and forecasts. I think the wildfires in the West and ongoing economic and political chaos have been more impactful, on balance, than the 2020 AHS to date, though on the local level this season certainly won’t be forgotten, primarily in Louisiana. At least the Caribbean and Bahamas haven’t seen too much carnage.
If not for high-impact legends such as Audrey ‘57 and Rita ‘05, this season would be considered one of the most memorable
on record in Southwestern Louisiana, period. As it is, it has been bad enough, especially in a region that has long been neglected, much like the Florida Panhandle since Michael and Puerto Rico since Maria, to not mention the Bahamas since Dorian. If I recall correctly, even Punta Gorda has
still not recovered entirely from Charley ‘04; neither Mississippi nor NOLA has since Katrina. Even with all the rampant reconstruction since then, there are still empty lots in Homestead, Florida, that date back to Andrew ‘92, especially in and around Naranja Lakes. Louisiana’s economy has been devastated by pollution, the
Deepwater Horizon disaster, coastal erosion, and repeated TC disasters, from Katrina to Isaac and “double-whammy” Laura/Delta. Now COVID-19 is a “kiss of death.”
Overall, 2020 was less a singular event than just one more stressor and catalyst on top of long-term trends.