Imperfect storm: When a hurricane meets a pandemic

A resident sits on a cot at an evacuation shelter ahead of Hurricane Florence at the Southeast Raleigh High School in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2018. Evacuations in 2020 are likely to look much different. (Photo: Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)

Meteorologists have been warning for months that the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is going to be severe, with estimates that this year could produce as many as 19 named storms and 10 hurricanes. And based on early activity, there is little reason to doubt their predictions.

Even before the official start of the season on June 1, two named tropical storms had formed: Arthur, then Bertha, which made landfall near Charleston, South Carolina, on May 27.