Record-Tying Tropical Storm Eta Forms in Atlantic

2020 is now tied for the most named tropical storms in a single Atlantic hurricane season with its 28^th of the year: Tropical Storm Eta.

Just prior to 10:00 CDT Saturday evening, the National Hurricane Center announced that Tropical Depression Twenty-Nine has been updated to Tropical Storm Eta. This marks the 28^th named tropical storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, a number achieved only once before in 2005. However, this is the first ever Tropical Storm Eta as Zeta was the last of the Greek letters to be used in 2005. Plus, 2005’s T.S. Zeta had not formed until December 31^st, over two months later than 2020’s Hurricane Zeta.

The storm, which sits about 200 miles south of the southern Haitian coast as of Saturday at 10:00 CDT, is forecast to continue its trek eastward toward Central America. The National Hurricane Center predicts it will strengthen into a category one hurricane sometime on Monday and make landfall as such in Nicaragua approximately Tuesday afternoon.

Should a 29^th storm be named this season, it will be known as Tropical Storm Theta and will give the 2020 sole possession of the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record.