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The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season is going down in the record books. There were 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes. The season seemed to have Louisiana in the crosshairs. The Pelican State was in the cone eight times. There were five landfalls, which is a record, two tropical storms, two Category 2 hurricanes and one Category 4 hurricane. A remnant low also moved across the state. Cristóbal, Laura, Marco, Delta, Zeta and the remnants of Beta. It seemed like it would never stop. For the second time in history, the season went into the Greek Alphabet. The only other time that happened was the year of Katrina in 2005. The 2020 season beat 2005 with the number of named storms. There were 30 storms in 2020 to 28 storms in 2005. The year 2005 had two more hurricanes and one more major hurricane. A record-breaking 12 storms made landfall in the United States. The old record was nine, set in 1916. Landfalling storms were Bertha, Cristóbal, Fay, Hanna, Isaias, Laura, Marco, Sally, Beta, Delta, Zeta and Eta. There were only two major hurricanes in the first 21 names. Once we hit the Greek Alphabet, there were four major hurricane, including Category 5 Hurricane Iota. Iota had winds of 160 mph. It made landfall as a Category 4 with winds of 155 mph. We know lightning can strike twice in the same place. That’s what basically happened with hurricanes this year. Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall at Cameron, Louisiana, Aug. 27. Category 2 Hurricane Delta made landfall 10 miles East of Cameron at Creole, Louisiana, on Oct. 9 with winds of 100 mph. The same thing happened in Nicaragua. Eta made landfall Nov. 3 with winds of 140 mph South of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Two weeks later, Hurricane Iota made landfall about 15 miles south of where Eta made landfall. In fact, at one point their tracks were on top of each other, and then paralleled each other over Nicaragua. For the sixth year in a row the season started early with two tropical storms. Arthur formed May 16, and Bertha formed May 27. Storms developed earlier than ever before beginning with Cristóbal as the earliest third storm, but there were 26 other record-breaking early developing storms. If it felt like the storms just kept on developing in September, they did. September 2020 was the most active September ever with 10 tropical systems. Omar, Nana, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, Wilfred, Alpha and Beta. That's six tropical storms and four hurricanes. The 2020 season was forecast to be an active season. All the right ingredients were there. Above-average Atlantic water temperatures, active West African Monsoon and no El Niño. El Niño causes strong upper level winds that can tear apart tropical storms. Instead we had a La Niña. It is no help at all in disrupting tropical weather. The Gulf Coast had major impacts, with the state of Louisiana having the most. Major Hurricane Laura hit Cameron Parish Aug. 27, plus Tropical Storms Cristóbal and Marco made landfall on the Gulf Coast. Beta was post-tropical when it moved across Louisiana but caused heavy rain. Then there was Delta hitting as a Category 2 just 10 miles away from where Laura made landfall 43 days earlier. For a moment, some people may have breathed a sigh of relief, but we were not done in Southeast Louisiana. Then came Zeta making landfall Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. near Cocodrie as a Category 2 with 110 mph winds. The eye moved right across New Orleans. People went outside in amazement. Many had not stood in the eye of a hurricane since Betsy. The leading edge of the eyewall caused strong winds across the area. Winds gusted to 77 mph at the Lakefront and 71 mph at the airport. The wind knocked down trees and branches causing power outages for days. Thankfully it was not hot after the hurricane. A cold front provided the area with cool, dry weather, which is really unusual. The back edge of the eyewall was not as strong, but people quickly ran inside when it moved through with strong gusty winds. Rainfall amounts were not that great as the storm was a quick mover. For Louisiana, the season began with Cristóbal. Cristóbal was a tropical wave that crossed the Caribbean and Central America into the Pacific. Amanda developed, moved onshore in Guatemala, dumped 10 to over 20 inches of rain and then dissipated. The upper level feature tracked into the Southwest Gulf, and on the first day of Hurricane Season a tropical depression formed. Cristóbal formed June 2 and headed toward the Gulf.Cristóbal made landfall Sunday, June 7, at 5:10 p.m. between Grand Isle and the Mouth of the Mississippi River with 50 mph winds. The biggest impact was storm surge and locally heavy rain. Ten people had to be rescued at Fontainebleau State Park where there was a 3-foot storm surge. Hurricane Laura tied the record for the strongest landfalling hurricane in Louisiana since 1851 with the Last Island Hurricane of 1856. Winds were 150 mph and the pressure 938 at landfall. Landfall was 1 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 27. The storm surge was 17.2 feet at Rutherford Beach, Louisiana. A stripe of 10-inch rainfall totals were common, but over 14 inches also occurred in the extreme southwest corner of the state. The wind snapped trees and destroyed homes. Sadly, much of the area was without power. Heat advisories were posted for days with a heat index as high as 110-114. At least 27 people died from Laura and many of them died after the hurricane from heat and carbon monoxide poisoning. Marco formed Aug. 21 and was the earliest 13th storm. It briefly became a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 23. Wind shear and dry air tore it apart. The heaviest rain was well removed from the center near Apalachicola, Florida, where over 11 inches of rain fell. Marco made landfall near the Mouth of the River Aug. 24 at 6:21 p.m. with winds of 40 mph. The New Orleans area had a few showers, a bit of a storm surge and that was about it. For a while there was a lot of talk of the potential for two hurricanes to make landfall along the Coast of Louisiana within days of each other. Laura and Marco. Thankfully Marco was not a big threat. The other hurricane that had the area's undivided attention was Sally. For a while it looked like it was heading that way, but the track kept shifting east. The problem with Sally is that it was a slow mover. That meant lots of rain. Sally made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane at Gulf Shores, Alabama at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16. Ironically, the hurricane made landfall on the same day and same place that Ivan made landfall 16 years earlier. Sally caused over 20 inches of rain, storm surge and some tornadoes. A 5-foot storm surge flooded Downtown Pensacola. A barge and crane damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge. It was a reminder of the major damage of the Escambia Bay Bridge caused by Ivan in 2004. Hurricane Season is June 1 through Nov. 30. Tropical weather can happen anytime of the year, it is just more likely June 1-Nov. 30. I don’t know about you, but I am done with Hurricane Season 2020. It was the most unrelenting season I have ever encountered. The 2005 season was absolutely devastating. This one just seemed to be never-ending.