Blown away: 2020 hurricane season at a glance

Weather risk experts expected the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season to be busy, but the reality far exceeded any expectations.

Early seasonal forecasts called for an “extremely active” season with 10 to 15 named storms. In the end, the 2020 hurricane season logged a record 30 storms, making it the most active season in recorded history.

Of the 30 named storms, 13 developed into hurricanes, and six further intensified into major hurricanes of Category 3 status or greater. The most destructive hurricanes recorded insured loss estimates into the billions, and some areas were hit more than once.

Louisiana was hit particularly hard this hurricane season. In November, Category 2 Hurricane Zeta became the 11th named storm to hit the U.S. and the third hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana this year. Insured loss estimates for Zeta maxed out at $4.4 billion, coming weeks after Hurricane Delta struck the Pelican State, resulting in insured losses of about $3 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

Louisiana was also hit with the worst hurricane of the season in September: Hurricane Laura. The Category 5 storm recorded insured loss estimates as high as $13 billion from catastrophe risk modeler RMS.

In the infographic above, take stock of the season’s most costly storms and how this season stacks up against the history books.

Related:

• Third-quarter natural catastrophe losses the largest since 2017
• How insurance can help manage an uncontrollable year
• Determining water loss: Storm surge, tide surge or rainwater flood