 Gamma making landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula at peak intensity on October 3 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 2, 2020 |
| Dissipated | October 6, 2020 |
| Category 1 hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 75 mph (120 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 978 mbar (hPa); 28.88 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 6 |
| Damage | $100 million (2020 USD) |
| Areas affected | Honduras, Yucatán Peninsula, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Florida |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Gamma was a tropical cyclone that brought heavy rains, flooding, and landslides to the Yucatán Peninsula in early October 2020. The twenty-fifth depression, twenty-fourth named storm and ninth hurricane of the extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Gamma developed from a vigorous tropical wave that had been monitored as it was entering the Eastern Caribbean on September 29. The wave moved westward and slowed down as it moved into the Western Caribbean, where it began to interact with a dissipating cold front. A low formed within the disturbance on October 1 and the next day, it organized into a tropical depression. It further organized into Tropical Storm Gamma early the next day. It continued to intensify and made landfall as a minimal hurricane near Tulum, Mexico, on October 3. It weakened over land before reemerging in the Gulf of Mexico. Gamma then briefly restrengthened some before being blasted by high amounts of wind shear, causing it to weaken again. It made a second landfall as a tropical depression in Nichili, Mexico on October 6 before dissipating as it was absorbed by the approaching Hurricane Delta.
Numerous tropical cyclone watches and warnings were issued for parts of Mexico in the Yucatán Peninsula following the formation of Gamma and thousands of people were evacuated. Gamma produced strong winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, landslides, and mudslides to the region. At least seven fatalities have been confirmed so far. The areas affected by Gamma were affected by stronger Hurricane Delta four days after the former made landfall.