Epsilon (2020)

Epsilon formed from a non-tropical low in the central Atlantic and became a tropical depression on 19 October 2020 about 720 nautical miles east of Bermuda. The system strengthened to a tropical storm later that day, executed a small cyclonic loop while drifting southeast then northwest, and moved generally northward and northeastward. It weakened below hurricane strength on 25 October, became extratropical about 26 October roughly 490 n mi east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and was absorbed by a larger extratropical low on 26 October.

The storm did not make any landfalls as a tropical cyclone. Its center passed well east of Bermuda (about 160 n mi east at 0000 UTC 23 October), producing tropical-storm-force winds on the island, but the core of the hurricane remained over open water throughout its life.

Epsilon reached its maximum intensity late on 21 October into 22 October. Peak sustained winds were estimated at 100 knots (115 mph) with a minimum central pressure near 952 mb, making it a Category 3 major hurricane at peak intensity during that period.

Storm surge impacts were not notable on land in the official report, but Epsilon generated large swells and life-threatening surf and rip currents over a broad area including Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, the U.S. East Coast, and Atlantic Canada. Rainfall on Bermuda was light, with 0.42 inch recorded at L.F. Wade International Airport between 22–23 October. Observed sustained tropical-storm-force winds on Bermuda included 43 kt (MAROPS) with a gust to 52 kt; several research and drifting buoys measured pressures and winds near the storm core (for example, buoy 4101823 measured 957.6 mb).

Epsilon was responsible for one direct death in the United States: a 27-year-old man drowned in rip currents in Daytona Beach, Florida. Damage on Bermuda was limited despite tropical-storm-force winds. The most widespread impacts were hazardous marine conditions—large swells, surf, and rip currents—affecting coastlines from the Lesser Antilles to Atlantic Canada.

Noteworthy aspects include Epsilon’s late-season rapid intensification and occurrence: it became a major hurricane unusually far east (near 29.3°N, 59.6°W) and appears to be the farthest-east major hurricane to form after 20 October. Forecast models and NHC forecasts generally anticipated genesis well in advance, but the rapid intensification and subsequent rapid weakening southeast of Bermuda were not fully captured by many intensity forecasts.