2020 Hurricane Season Overview
Officials predict that the 2020 hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal, with between 13 and 19 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes, and three to six major hurricanes with wind strength of Category 3 or higher.
Hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30.
Storm Names
Since the mid-1950’s, meteorologists have used names for tropical storms and hurricanes.
The World Meteorological Organization is responsible for developing the names for both Northern Pacific and Atlantic storms. They use six lists of names for Atlantic Ocean and Eastern North Pacific storms. These lists rotate, one each year.
That means every six years, the names cycle back around and get reused (which happened in 2019). If a hurricane does tremendous damage the name is retired and replaced by a different name beginning with the same letter.
The names alternate between male and female names, listed alphabetically and in chronological order starting with A and omitting Q and U, X, Y, and Z. If more than 21 names are required during a season, the Greek alphabet is used.
2020 Hurricane Season Names
- Arthur
- Bertha
- Cristobal
- Dolly
- Edouard
- Fay
- Gonzalo
- Hanna
- Isaias
- Josephine
- Kyle
- Laura
- Marco
- Nana
- Omar
- Paulette
- Rene
- Sally
- Teddy
- Vicky
- Wilfred
Tropical Storms vs. Hurricanes
Names are only given to tropical storms that have sustained wind speeds higher than 39 mph. These names will stay with the storm as it reaches hurricane strength (maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher). This means Tropical Storm Arthur, for example, will become Hurricane Arthur if it reaches hurricane strength.
Evacuation Decisions
The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and local emergency managers make the decision if an evacuation is warranted and establish the timeline for the evacuation.
McNeese officials attend the Calcasieu Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness meetings and report information back to the McNeese Emergency Preparedness Team for guidance in campus decisions.
