Tropical Storm Theta pushes 2020 to busiest season on record

Tropical Storm Theta may not yet boast hurricane-force winds, but it is already breaking records, pushing this year’s Atlantic hurricane season to the busiest on record.

Theta is the 29th storm in a year that has already exhausted names based on the standard alphabet, forcing weather agencies to transition to Greek letters. 

The previous record was set in 2005, the same year Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. That broke a record set back in 1933, when there were 20 active storms.

Theta isn’t a threat to the U.S. The eastern-bound storm is currently in the middle of the Atlantic and is projected to pass between Portugal’s Azores and the Cape Verde islands before possibly reaching Great Britain next week.

Meanwhile, a 30th storm is already forming in the Caribbean just south of Puerto Rico that has yet to be named.

Hurricane season typically runs from June through November, but activity usually peaks in September.