Even though it is October, the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season is not over just yet. The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1st and runs through November 30th. According to the National Hurricane Center, the average hurricane season produces 12 named storms, of which 6 become hurricanes... and 3 of them MAJOR hurricanes (category 3+).
So far this year, we had 24 named storms, 8 of which were hurricanes, and 2 were major hurricanes (Laura & Teddy). We exhausted all of the hurricane names for 2020 and we have moved onto the Greek Alphabet, which hasn't been done since 2005. We already used "Alpha" and "Beta" and now we can cross "Gamma" off the list.
Yesterday evening, Tropical Storm Gamma formed in the northwestern Caribbean and there are Hurricane Warnings and Tropical Storm Warnings underway for the northeast Yucatan Peninsula as it nears hurricane strength. It has sustained winds of 70 mph with higher wind gusts and is traveling northwest at 9 mph and will continue on this path through the remainder of the day. The center of Gamma should move inland over the eastern Yucatan Peninsula later today and may reach hurricane status. There are signs that some weakening is expected after landfall.
The main threat is excessive rainfall. Possible rainfall amounts: 1-5" over the Cayman Islands, 4-8" across the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba, and 10-15" cannot be ruled out across Quintana Roo and northern Yucatan. Life-threatening flash flooding is the major concern.
We will continue to monitor this very closely.
#StayTuned
