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Turns out 2020 had an extra hurricane after all

Hurricane Gamma upgraded to 14th hurricane of season

Satellite image of Gamma at October 3, just after landfall near Tulum in the state of Quintana Roo of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center has released its 2020 post-season reanalysis for Tropical Cyclone Gamma, upgrading it to a hurricane.

Gamma’s inclusion on the list of hurricanes makes 2020 just one hurricane shy of the record of 15 hurricanes in one year set in 2005.

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Gamma was strong enough to cause six deaths from flooding and landslides, and it forced thousands of others to evacuate.

Heavy rainfall totaled 12 inches over parts of Mexico.

The cyclone never reached the United States after emerging over the southern Gulf of Mexico. It eventually weakened before dissipating back over the Yucatan Peninsula.

The upgrade to hurricane status came after researchers reviewed detailed additional data not previously available in real time.

After the hurricane season, analyses are made on each storm and formalized in a written report.

The post-storm analysis reviewed all available aircraft winds, surface winds, surface pressures, and satellite imagery which changed 69 mph winds to the upgraded 75 mph peak winds near Tulum.

If you’re interested in more storm reports, the National Hurricane Center is finalizing five more Tropical Cyclone Reports from the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season including: Laura, Teddy, Zeta, Eta, and Iota which should be finished before the start of the 2021 season.


About the Author
Mark Collins headshot

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.

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