CRUZ TESTED THE LIGHTS TO MAKE
SURE EVERYTHING WORKS AND
TONIGHT HARDLY ANYONE WILL BE
WATCHING THE BALL DROP.
TO ALL BUT A FEW SPECIAL GUESTS.
2020, A YEAR TO REMEMBER
AND WE CONTINUE OUR LOOK BACK
ON THE YEAR THAT IS ALMOST OVER
AND THIS PAST YEAR THE
HURRICANE SEASON WAS
UNPRECEDENTED AND HISTORIC AND
WE HERE WERE SPARED ANY
SIGNIFICANT STORMS THAT
IMPACTED SO MANY OTHERS.
HERE IS DAVE WARREN.
THE FORECAST CALLED FOR IT
AND BEFORE THE OFFICIAL START
OF HURRICANE SEASON THE FIRST
NAMED STORM AND IT TURNED OUT
TO BE A RECORD.
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HISTORY
THE STANDARD 21 NAMES WOULD NOT
BE ENOUGH AND WE HAD TO GO INTO
THE GREEK ALPHABET AND THIS
TIME FINISHING THE SEASON WITH
CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE IOTA
STORMS COVERED MOST OF THE
ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN WITH A
LARGE NUMBER ALONG THE GULF
COAST.
THE FIRST MAJOR HURRICANE OF
THE SEASON WAS LAURA WHICH
BECAME A CATEGORY 3 ON AUGUST 26
AND WOULD CONTINUE TO
STRENGTHEN BEFORE MAKING
LANDFALL ON THE LOUISIANA COAST
ON AUGUST 27.
IT WAS ONE OF EIGHT NAMED
STORMS IMPACT THE GULF COAST.
TROPICAL STORM ZETA CAUSE
FLOODING IN TEXAS AND HURRICANE
SALLY CALLS THIS DAMAGE IN
PENSACOLA.
HURRICANE DELTA NOT A STRONG
MADE LANDFALL IN NEARLY THE
SAME LOCATION AS LAURA DELAYING
THE RECOVERY OR EVEN REVERSE
EMIT BLOWING OUT MAKESHIFT
WINDOWS AND PLYWOOD PUT IN
PLACE AFTER LAURA.
THIS WAS NOT THE ONLY LOCATION
THAT HAD TO DEAL WITH MULTIPLE
STORMS.
NICARAGUA, MAJOR HURRICANE ETA
MADE LANDFALL NOVEMBER 3
CAUSING CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE.
LESSON TWO WEEKS LATER
HURRICANE IOTA MADE LANDFALL
15 MILES SOUTH OF WHERE ETA DID
IT WAS A CATEGORY 5 STORM WITH
WIND SPEEDS OF 160 MILES AN
HOUR.
CATASTROPHIC FLOODING PUSHED
INLAND BY THE STORM SPREADING
FROM NICARAGUA TO GUATEMALA.
ONE OF THE FEW PLACES
RELATIVELY SPARED, SOUTH
FLORIDA.
ISAIAS WAS THE CLOSEST
HURRICANE STAYING OFF THE COAST
BUT LAURA WAS ONE STORM WE
WATCHED CLOSELY.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DO NOT THINK
OF LAURA AS BEING A THREAT BUT
I THINK IT WAS THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT THREAT AND IT
TURNED OUT NOT TO IMPACT US BUT
IT WAS LATE AUGUST AND WE WERE
LOOKING AT A VERY FAVORABLE
STEERING WINDS THAT WOULD'VE
TAKEN THE SYSTEM NEAR THE
ISLANDS TOWARD SOUTH FLORIDA
WITH FAVORABLE CONDITIONS SO
THE ENVIRONMENT WAS SAID TO
BRING A STRENGTHENING TROPICAL
STORM POSSIBLY A STRENGTHENING
HURRICANE OUR WAY AND IF WE
LOOK BACK AT THE TRACK, WHAT
HAPPENED WAS IT REFORMED
BECAUSE IT WAS STILL IN THE
FORMATION STAGE TO THE SOUTH
AND THAT WAS A BIG KEY FOR OUR
WEATHER AND EFFECT ANOTHER DAY
LATER IT JOGGED EVEN FURTHER TO
THE SOUTH AND IT EVENTUALLY
TOOK THIS TRACK SOUTH OF PUERTO
RICO 130 MILES AND I THINK THAT
MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE WE CAN
BECAUSE OF THE SLAIN DISRUPTION
WITH HISPANIOLA AND CUBA.
IT WAS NOT UNTIL EARLY
NOVEMBER THAT THE 2020
HURRICANE SEASON WOULD BRING
THE BIGGEST IMPACTS. AFTER
CURBING BACK OVER THE CARIBBEAN,
ETA TURNED WEST MAKING
LANDFALL.
EVEN THAT WAS A TROPICAL STORM
MOST OF SOUTH FLORIDA WOKE UP
TO THIS.
AREAS AND BROWARD COUNTY
RECEIVED OVER ONE FOOT OF RAIN
LEADING TO WIDESPREAD FLOODING
FOR DAYS AND OF THE 30 NAMED
STORMS IT WAS JUST ONE TROPICAL
STORM THAT HAD THE BIGGEST
IMPACTS HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
WE HAVE ONE FINAL LOOK AT
ALL OF THE STORM TRACKS FROM
THE ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN AND THE
GULF OF MEXICO, 2020 WITH OVER
30 STORMS BUT IT WAS TROPICAL
STORM ETA WITH THE BIGGEST
IMPACTS . FOR NOW, WE CAN
RELAX IN WITH THE NEW YEAR
COMES KNOWING WE HAVE FIVE
MONTHS UNTIL THE START OF THE
2021 HURRICANE SEASON.
A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE
METEOROLOGISTS OUT THERE AND I