October 2020 Tropical Cyclones Report | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Note: This report catalogs recent tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic and East Pacific and places each basin’s tropical cyclone activity in a climate-scale context. It is not updated in real time. Users seeking the real time status and forecasts of tropical cyclones should visit The National Hurricane Center.

Significant Events

Satellite loop of Hurricane Zeta making landfall over Louisiana. Source: NOAA

nClimGrid-Daily from Hurricanes Delta and Zeta October 9-31, 2020

The Atlantic hurricane season remained very active in October. Four named storms developed, three of which became hurricanes, and two of those were major hurricanes. All of these totals were in the top five for Octobers since 1981. Hurricane Eta formed as a tropical depression on October 29, but it was not included in these counts because it became a named tropical storm on November 1.

The 2020 hurricane season has produced 27 named storms through October, not counting Eta. That number is three ahead of the previous record holder, 2005, through this point in the season. In fact, the 29th storm of the season, Tropical Storm Theta, formed on November 10. That breaks the 2005 record for the most storms in a season.

In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes, October 2020 was the 6th most active October on record. Despite the record number of storms in 2020, many of them have been weak or short-lived. As a result, the ACE for the 2020 season through October is only the 10th most active in the last 40 years.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has also been noteworthy for its impacts on the contiguous U.S. Two hurricanes, Delta and Zeta, made landfall during October. Each storm produced heavy rainfall over a swath from Louisiana to Virginia. These storms were the 10th and 11th named storms to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. in 2020, which breaks the previous record of 9 from 1916. Of those 11 named storms, six were hurricanes, which ties the record from 1886 and 1985. Perhaps most remarkable is that five of the named storms ( Cristobal, Marco, Laura, Delta, and Zeta) made landfall in Louisiana—the most any state has experienced in a single year. Western Louisiana has been particularly hard hit as Delta made landfall about 12 miles from where Laura did six weeks earlier.

In contrast to the Atlantic, the East Pacific has been quieter than normal. October produced only one tropical storm, Norbert. Another storm, Hurricane Marie, developed in September but became a hurricane during October. Marie was just the fourth hurricane of the 2020 season, which is tied for the second fewest since 1981.

North Atlantic

October 2020 North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones
Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Gamma	TS	October 3Oct 3-5	70 mph	980 mb
Delta	4	October 5Oct 5-10	140 mph	953 mb
Epsilon	3	October 19Oct 19-26	115 mph	952 mb
Zeta	2	October 25Oct 25-29	105 mph	973 mb

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1851-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	2.0	5th (tied with 4 other Octobers)	8 (1950)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	3	1.1	4th (tied with 2 other Octobers)	5 (1870, 1950, 2010)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	0.4 (4 in 10 Octobers)	1st (tied with 2 other Octobers)	2 (9 Octobers)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	38.5	14.4	6th	87.2 (1878)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1851-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	27	11.2	1st	27^† (2020)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	11	5.8	3rd (tied with 1 other season)	14 (2005)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	4	2.6	7th (tied with 3 other seasons)	7 (2005)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	142.6	97.9	10th	251.4 (1933)
^†Previous record 24 (2005)

East Pacific

October 2020 East Pacific Tropical Cyclones
Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Marie	4	September 29-October 6Sep 29-Oct 6	130 mph	948 mb
Norbert	TS	October 6Oct 6-14	50 mph	1001 mb

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1949-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	2.1	28th (tied with 6 other Octobers)	5 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.2	17th (tied with 10 other Octobers)	3 (6 Octobers)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.6 (6 in 10 Octobers)	6th (tied with 17 other Octobers)	3 (1983, 2018)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	18.8	18.1	19th	77.4 (2018)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1949-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	14	16.2	30th (tied with 1 other season)	27 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	8.7	38th (tied with 1 other season)	16 (1990, 1992)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	4.3	25th (tied with 4 other seasons)	10 (1992, 2015, 2018)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	73.6	129.0	33rd	313.2 (2018)

West Pacific

October 2020 West Pacific Tropical Cyclones
Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Chan-Hom	1	October 5Oct 5-11	90 mph	962 mb
Linfa	TS	October 10Oct 10-11	45 mph	999 mb
Nangka	TS	October 12Oct 12-14	60 mph	989 mb
Saudel	2	October 20Oct 20-25	95 mph	968 mb
Molave	3	October 24Oct 24-28	125 mph	950 mb
Goni	5	October 28-November 5Oct 28-Nov 5	195 mph	884 mb

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1945-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	6	3.8	3rd (tied with 5 other Octobers)	7 (1984, 1992)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	2.8	6th (tied with 5 other Octobers)	7 (2013)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	2	1.7	11th (tied with 16 other Octobers)	5 (1962, 2013)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	49.7	56.6	24th	126.8 (1992)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1945-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	20	22.4	28th (tied with 3 other seasons)	33 (1971)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	11	14.5	29th (tied with 3 other seasons)	24 (1971)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	6	7.4	26th (tied with 4 other seasons)	14 (1965, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	125.7	252.8	38th	452.1 (1997)

North Indian

No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during October 2020.

North Indian Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1972-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.0	31st (tied with 9 other Octobers)	2 (13 Octobers)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Octobers)	9th (tied with 31 other Octobers)	2 (1999, 2014, 2018)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Octobers)	8th (tied with 32 other Octobers)	2 (1999, 2014)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	2.3	31st (tied with 9 other Octobers)	27.3 (2019)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1972-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	3.1	23rd (tied with 13 other seasons)	6 (1992, 1996, 2006)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	5th (tied with 5 other seasons)	4 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 12 other seasons)	3 (1999)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	18.5	10.6	9th	63.3 (2019)

South Indian

No South Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during October 2020.

South Indian Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1956-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Octobers)	15th (tied with 25 other Octobers)	1 (15 Octobers)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Octobers)	5th (tied with 35 other Octobers)	1 (1981, 1983, 1996, 2012)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Octobers)	2nd (tied with 38 other Octobers)	1 (2012)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	1.1	17th (tied with 23 other Octobers)	12.4 (2013)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1956-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	24th (tied with 16 other seasons)	3 (1996)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 34 other seasons)	1 (5 seasons)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 38 other seasons)	1 (2012)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	1.7	24th (tied with 16 other seasons)	12.4 (2013)

Australia

No Australia Tropical Cyclones occurred during October 2020.

Australia Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1956-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Octobers)	5th (tied with 35 other Octobers)	1 (1996, 1998, 2001, 2010)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Octobers)	1st (tied with 39 other Octobers)	0
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Octobers)	1st (tied with 39 other Octobers)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 Octobers)	6th (tied with 34 other Octobers)	2.0 (1984)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1956-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 seasons)	8th (tied with 32 other seasons)	2 (1996)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 39 other seasons)	0
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 39 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.3 (3 in 10 seasons)	10th (tied with 30 other seasons)	2.0 (1984)

Southwest Pacific

No Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during October 2020.

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1956-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Octobers)	5th (tied with 35 other Octobers)	3 (1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Octobers)	2nd (tied with 38 other Octobers)	1 (2006)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Octobers)	2nd (tied with 38 other Octobers)	1 (2006)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.5 (5 in 10 Octobers)	5th (tied with 35 other Octobers)	9.6 (2007)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1956-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 34 other seasons)	3 (1997)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 38 other seasons)	1 (2006)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 38 other seasons)	1 (2006)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 34 other seasons)	9.6 (2007)

Global

October 2020 Global Tropical Cyclones
Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Marie	4	September 29-October 6Sep 29-Oct 6	130 mph	948 mb
Gamma	TS	October 3Oct 3-5	70 mph	980 mb
Delta	4	October 5Oct 5-10	140 mph	953 mb
Chan-Hom	1	October 5Oct 5-11	90 mph	962 mb
Norbert	TS	October 6Oct 6-14	50 mph	1001 mb
Linfa	TS	October 10Oct 10-11	45 mph	999 mb
Nangka	TS	October 12Oct 12-14	60 mph	989 mb
Epsilon	3	October 19Oct 19-26	115 mph	952 mb
Saudel	2	October 20Oct 20-25	95 mph	968 mb
Molave	3	October 24Oct 24-28	125 mph	950 mb
Zeta	2	October 25Oct 25-29	105 mph	973 mb
Goni	5	October 28-November 5Oct 28-Nov 5	195 mph	884 mb

Global Tropical Cyclone October Counts
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1972-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	11	9.6	10th (tied with 5 other Octobers)	16 (1992, 2012)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	8	5.4	3rd (tied with 7 other Octobers)	9 (1992, 2013)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	5	2.9	6th (tied with 2 other Octobers)	7 (2013, 2015, 2018)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	107.0	93.4	18th	205.5 (2018)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-October 2020
Storm Type	Count	1981-2010 Mean	1981-2020 Rank*	1972-2020 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	85	74.4	5th (tied with 1 other season)	92 (2018)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	37	41.1	27th (tied with 4 other seasons)	52 (1990, 1992, 2018)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	16	20.5	33rd (tied with 5 other seasons)	35 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	465.5	659.3	39th	1,006.6 (2018)
*Tropical cyclone data before 1981 have a low bias due to limited access to satellite data and techniques over the open ocean.

Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly Tropical Cyclones Report for October 2020, published online November 2020, retrieved on September 7, 2024 from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/tropical-cyclones/202010.

Metadata

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.ncdc:C00775