Buresh

Buresh Blog: Late Season Tropical Theatrics... Halloween Blue Moon... Nov. Averages

Jacksonville, FL — “Talking the Tropics With Mike” - updated every day during the hurricane season (June 1 - Nov. 30).....

The theatrics of the 2020 hurricane season continue(!). Hurricane Zeta came ashore late Wed. afternoon about 50 miles S/SW of New Orleans - wind & storm surge were the “biggies”.

The record breaking beat goes on:

* Zeta was the fastest to the 27th named storm beating the record of Nov. 29th, 2005

* Is the latest U.S. hurricane landfall since Kate on Nov. 22, 1985 & the 6th (in addition to Hanna, Isaias, Laura, Sally & Delta) U.S. hurricane landfall this season tying the record from 1886 & 1985.

* The 6th hurricane to hit the U.S. this year ties the record set in 1886 & 1985

* The 11th named storm (Bertha, Cristobal, Fay, Hanna, Isaias, Laura, Marco, Sally, Beta, Delta) to hit the U.S. is also a record (9/1916).

* And Zeta is the strongest U.S. landfalling hurricane so late in the season since Cat. 2 South Carolina “Halloween Hurricane” in 1899.

* This is the 5th named storm to hit Louisiana this year, the old record in a single season was four in 2002. And the last time 2 hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. in Oct. - Hilda & Isbell in 1964.

From Dr. Phil Klotzbach:

And - just an aside - we will not run out of Greek alphabet names:

You’ve heard the term “Once in a Blue Moon”. Well.... we will be treated to a so-called Blue Moon - appropriately enough - on Halloween. The moon won’t be blue but rather the phrase is akin to something that doesn’t occur often such as a 2nd full moon in the same month. This is the first full Halloween moon for the entire U.S. in 76 years though there is a full moon on Halloween somewhere in the U.S. on avg. every 19 years (in 2001 it was the Central/Mountain & Pacific time zones). The next “blue moon” will be in August, 2023.

We turn the calendars to November - just two months left in 2020! Some parts of inland SE Ga. & far North Central Fl. avg. their first freeze of the season late in Nov. in what is usually one of the driest months of the year... the averages for JIA: