North Atlantic and West Pacific are two active basins for cyclone formation in the Northern Hemisphere. The Post Monsoon month of November marks the end of the most probable period for the hurricanes over North Atlantic and Typhoons over the West Pacific. Mostly these cyclones form in tandem during the season and compete for the number in the respective oceans. Season 2020 was dominated by the hurricanes, many of them catastrophic and got listed as record-breaking season.
The 2020 Pacific typhoon season remained a below-average event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season runs throughout the year, though most tropical cyclones typically develop between May and October. The Philippines is the most exposed country in the world to tropical storms.
The 1st named storm Vongfong developed east of Mindanao and strengthened rapidly to Cat-3 typhoon, undergoing eyewall replacement cycle before landfall and caused extensive damage to the Philippines as it struck Samar Island. First time since the record began, there was no tropical storm formation during entire month of July. By the end of October, typhoon Goni became the strongest typhoon in the season surpassing Haishen and also holding the distinction of being the strongest tropical cyclone on record in 2020. The West Pacific Ocean had a total of 22 named storms, including 10 typhoons and 2 super typhoons. In comparison, year 2019 was rather active with total of 29 named storms, 17 typhoons and 5 super typhoons.
The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season was the most active on record. It was the 5th consecutive above-average Atlantic hurricane season from 2016 onward. The season held a total of record-high 30 storms, which included 13 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes. The season officially starts on June 1 and ends on November 30. However, storm formation is possible throughout the year.
The highlight of the season includes 10 storms to strike the continental U.S. during the season. Also, the coastal state of Louisiana was struck by record-breaking 5 landfalling storms in the season. The last storm of the season, Hurricane Iota, formed in the Caribbean and rapidly intensified in to Cat-5 to strike Nicaragua. This also made 2020 the only season with 2 major hurricanes in November along with hurricane Eta which struck a little earlier in same general area of Central America.