On This Day

Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a category four storm, just 15 km south of Hurricane Eta 13 days ago

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of the number of systems.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of the number of systems. It featured a total of 31 tropical and subtropical cyclones, with all but one becoming a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 developed into hurricanes, and a record-tying seven further intensified into major hurricanes. It was the second and final season to use the Greek letter storm naming system, the first being 2005, the previous record. Of the 30 named storms, 11 of them made landfall in the contiguous United States, breaking the record of nine set in 1916. During the season, 27 tropical storms established a new record for earliest formation date by storm number.

Historical Significance

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of the number of systems.

Events Before

  1. Dutchman Michael van Gerwen wins his 3rd PDC World Darts Championship; beats Englishman Michael Smith 7-3 at the Alexand

    Dutchman Michael van Gerwen wins his 3rd PDC World Darts Championship; beats Englishman Michael Smith 7-3 at the Alexandra Palace in London

  2. US grounds all Boeing 737 Max aircraft after bans by other countries following the plane type's second crash in Ethiopia

    The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737.

  3. Climate change strikes held by schoolchildren take place around the world, inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg

    Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg is a Swedish activist best known for pressuring governments to address climate change and social issues.

  4. Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken, raising flags in Baghuz, Syria

    Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken, raising flags in Baghuz, Syria, and ending the five-year Islamic State "caliphate"

  5. Amazon's Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos agree record-breaking $35 billion divorce settlement

    Amazon's Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos agree record-breaking $35 billion divorce settlement

Events After

  1. Cuba's "day zero" unifies its two currencies by withdrawing the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), alongside steep increases

    Cuba's "day zero" unifies its two currencies by withdrawing the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), alongside steep increases in prices and salaries, effectively devaluing the remaining Cuban Peso for the first time since 1959 [1]

  2. First Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines are given to the general public, with 82-year-old Brian Pinker in the UK the

    First Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines are given to the general public, with 82-year-old Brian Pinker in the UK the first to receive the jab [1]

  3. Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, D.C., during Congress’s certification of Joe

    Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, D.C., during Congress’s certification of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s victory, resulting in five deaths and prompting the evacuation of lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence

  4. Military coup in Myanmar; civilian leaders are detained, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and a one-year state of emergency i

    Military coup in Myanmar; civilian leaders are detained, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and a one-year state of emergency is declared (still in effect)

  5. Kim Kardashian West files for divorce from her third husband, Kanye West after almost seven years

    Khloé Alexandra Kardashian is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman.

More from the 2020s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on November 16, 2020?
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of the number of systems. It featured a total of 31 tropical and subtropical cyclones, with all but one becoming a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 developed into hurricanes, and a record-tying seven further intensified into major hurricanes.
Why is Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a category four storm, just 15 ... significant?
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, in terms of the number of systems.

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