Tropical Storm Eta
One of the tropical cyclone disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $1.8 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($1.5 billion at the time) and 12 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 38 most significant tropical cyclone episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $1.8 billion
- Losses at the time
- $1.5 billion
- Deaths
- 12
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 84 | 2 | 1 | $52 million |
| North Carolina | 147 | 8 | 0 | $3.0 million |
| Virginia | 189 | 0 | 0 | $372,000 |
| South Carolina | 4 | 0 | 0 | $53,000 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0 | $40,000 |
| Georgia | 8 | 0 | 0 | $13,000 |
| Maryland | 23 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 |
| Illinois | 74 | 0 | 0 | |
| Puerto Rico | 26 | 0 | 0 | |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in Florida, November 7 to 9, 2020Tropical Storm Eta passed northwest through the middle Florida Keys on November 8 through 9, 2020. Primary impacts from wind occurred as result of a primary rain band which drifted very slowly north through the Upper Florida Keys.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flows in Puerto Rico, November 7 to 12, 2020Very deep tropical moisture pulled up by the circulation of Tropical Cyclone Eta as it was moving across Cuba and into Southern Florida moved over the area. As a result, environmental conditions were very favorable for multiple days of heavy shower activity.
- Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in Florida, November 8 to 13, 2020A tropical wave, turned tropical depression, moving westward across the western Caribbean Sea abruptly formed into an intense Category 4 hurricane before making landfall over western Nicaragua on November 3rd, with a minimum central pressure of 923 mb just before landfall, and a…
- Tropical Storm and Tropical Depression in Florida, November 8 to 9, 2020Tropical Storm Eta moved across Cuba and into the Florida Straits on the morning of November 8. Eta tracked northwest through the day and then made landfall along the Central Florida Keys early in the morning of November 9.
- Tropical Storm in Florida, November 8 to 9, 2020Hurricane Eta originated from a tropical depression that formed in the central Caribbean Sea on October 31st.
- Coastal Flood in Florida, November 9, 2020A strong pressure gradient was across the area as Tropical Cyclone Eta tracked NW an W across the FL Keys and over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Strong onshore flow produced wind gusts of 40-50 mph along the coast.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Virginia, November 10 to 17, 2020One of the most significant flooding events in years occurred during November 11th and 12th, given both the amounts of rainfall and the footprint where flooding occurred.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in North Carolina, November 10 to 13, 2020One of the most significant flooding events in years occurred during November 11th and 12th, given both the amounts of rainfall and the footprint where flooding occurred.
- Flood in Florida, November 10, 2020Tropical Storm Eta meandered in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, along with expanding rain bands and lightning activity emanating from it.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Illinois, November 10, 2020A strong and quick moving cold front made its way through the Midwest. The environment ahead of the cold front was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the upper 60s and readings in the 40s not far behind the front.
- Tornado in Oregon, November 10, 2020On the afternoon of November 10, 2020 in the city of St. Helens, OR, while in a fairly typically post-frontal convective environment for the fall and early winter.
- Flood in U.S. Virgin Islands, November 10, 2020Deep tropical moisture pulled up from Tropical Storm Eta and a tropical wave moving across the area resulted in periods of enhanced rainfall activity across the USVI on 11/10. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain fell.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, November 10, 2020A line of severe thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the afternoon and early evening of November 10th producing damaging winds and two tornadoes.
- Tropical Storm and High Surf in Florida, November 11, 2020Tropical Storm Eta moved northeast and gradually intensified west of Dry Tortugas. An expanding wind field brought tropical-storm force wind gusts to the extreme Lower Keys and Dry Tortugas.
- Heavy Rain in Virginia, November 11 to 12, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain across much of central and eastern Virginia.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, November 11 to 13, 2020Moisture from Tropical Storm Eta was drawn northward into the Mid Atlantic during the day of Wednesday November 11th.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Georgia, November 11 to 12, 2020Ample moisture from Tropical Storm/Hurricane Eta to the south over the Gulf of Mexico, marginal instability and moderate shear combined to produce isolated wind damage and flooding across portions of north and central Georgia ahead of a cold front sweeping through the region.
- Tornado and Tropical Storm in Florida, November 11 to 12, 2020Hurricane Eta originated from a tropical depression that formed in the central Caribbean Sea on October 31st.
- Heavy Rain in Maryland, November 11 to 12, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain across much of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, November 11 to 12, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain across much of northeast North Carolina.
- Flash Flood in South Carolina, November 11, 2020A very moist atmosphere, and some merging and training heavy showers and thunderstorms, produced locally heavy rain and flooding in Orangeburg Co SC.
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, November 11 to 12, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of central and southeast Virginia.
- Tropical Storm in Florida, November 11 to 12, 2020Tropical Storm Eta offshore of the SW FL Gulf Coast tracked NE through the day, crossing NE FL while gradually weakening through the day. Strong, gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall impacted NE FL as bands of heavy showers moved onshore.
- Flooding in Maryland, November 11 to 13, 2020Heavy rain occurred as tropical moisture (record levels for November) streamed northward into the area and interacted with a stalled frontal zone. This heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flooding across central and southern Maryland.
- Flooding in Virginia, November 11 to 13, 2020Heavy rain occurred as tropical moisture (record levels for November) streamed northward into the area and interacted with a stalled frontal zone. This heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flooding across Northern and Central Virginia.
- Tropical Depression in Florida, November 12, 2020Tropical Storm Eta moved north across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, parallel to the western Florida coast throughout the day on November 11.
- Flooding in Virginia, November 12 to 13, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across portions of central and southeast Virginia.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in North Carolina, November 12 to 14, 2020Tropical Cyclone Eta moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, across the northern Florida peninsula, to off the South Carolina coast throughout the 11th and 12th.
- Flood in District of Columbia, November 12, 2020Heavy rain occurred as tropical moisture (record levels for November) streamed northward into the area and interacted with a stalled frontal zone. This heavy rainfall resulted in a report of flooding in Washington DC.
- Flood in Tennessee, November 12, 2020A heavy rain swath associated with Tropical Storm Eta extended from Macon, Georgia, to Roanoke, Virginia, and clipped the mountains of northeast Tennessee in Johnson County, where isolated flooding was reported.
- Tropical Storm in Georgia, November 12, 2020Tropical Storm Eta offshore of the SW FL Gulf Coast tracked NE through the day, crossing NE FL while gradually weakening through the day. Strong, gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall impacted NE FL as bands of heavy showers moved onshore.
- Flash Flood and Flood in South Carolina, November 12, 2020Tropical Cyclone Eta moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, across the northern Florida peninsula, to off the South Carolina coast throughout the 11th and 12th.
- Flooding in North Carolina, November 12 to 13, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, November 12, 2020Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, November 12, 2020Heavy rain and resultant flash flooding occurred during the afternoon hours. The rain was caused by a combination of a slow moving cold front along with moisture in connection with Tropical Storm Eta, which eventually would track across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, across…
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, November 12, 2020A cold front, combined with tropical moisture from Tropical Storm Eta produced flash flooding.
- Flash Flooding in Florida, November 12, 2020As Tropical Storm Eta continues to approach the FL coast in the NE Gulf of Mexico, bands of trailing showers and embedded thunderstorms spread across South Florida from the SSW to the NNE. Some of these bands contained heavy rain and gusty winds.
- Flash Flood in South Carolina, November 12, 2020A cold front, combined with tropical moisture from Tropical Storm Eta produced flash flooding.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2020The 2020 hurricane seasonTornadoes in 2020
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.