Tropical Storm Beta is gaining strength off the coast of southern Texas, as Subtropical Storm Alpha makes landfall in Portugal Friday afternoon; both are making history because of their names and timing.
This is only the second time in recent history more than 21 significant storms in the Atlantic have been named in a year. Tropical Storm Beta is number 23.
The National Hurricane Center uses a list of 21 names each year to distinguish large storms they are tracking in the Atlantic Ocean. Once those names are all used, scientists use the Greek alphabet to name storms.
Here are the Greek names for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season for reference. pic.twitter.com/YsrpliN9fF
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 18, 2020
This is the second time since the naming conventions were started in the 1950s that the Greek alphabet will be needed. In 2005, 27 storms formed and the last six were named after the Greek alphabet.
In that year, Tropical Storm Alpha didn’t form until mid-October.
Subtropical Storm Alpha is not expected to last very long now that it is over land, bringing winds and rain to Portugal and Spain.
Tropical Storm Beta is gaining strength and could become a hurricane early next week before making landfall along the southern Texas coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.