Tropical Storm Beta (2020)
Tropical Storm Beta was a tropical cyclone that brought heavy rainfall, flooding, and severe weather to the Southeastern United States in September 2020. The twenty-third tropical depression and twenty-third named storm of the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Beta originally formed from a trough of low pressure that developed in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on September 10. The low moved slowly southwestward, with development hampered initially by the development of nearby Hurricane Sally. After Sally moved inland over the Southeastern United States and weakened, the disturbance became nearly stationary in the southwestern Gulf, where it began to organize. By September 16, the storm had gained a low-level circulation center and had enough organization to be designated as Tropical Depression Twenty-Two. The system held its intensity for a day due to the influence of strong wind shear and dry air, before eventually attaining tropical storm strength. It slowly moved northward and intensified to a mid-range tropical storm before dry air and wind shear halted its intensification. Beta then became nearly stationary on September 19, before starting to move west towards the Texas coast the next day, weakening as it approached. On September 21, Beta made landfall near Matagorda Peninsula, Texas as a minimal tropical storm. It subsequently weakened to a tropical depression the next day before becoming post-tropical early on September 23. Its remnants moved northeastward, before the center elongated and merged with a cold front early on September 25. The storm's sprawling nature and slow-movement caused numerous areas along the Gulf Coast to be pounded by heavy surf and high waves for several days, while torrential rainfall and storm surge affected areas that were already struggling to recover from previous tropical cyclones, such as Hurricanes Laura and Sally. Several streets, highways, and even interstates in Houston were closed due to flooding. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas were all impacted by flooding, gusty winds, and severe weather as well. One fatality in Texas due to Beta's impacts has been confirmed. Total damage from the storm was estimated to be at least $225 million. Meteorological history The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to monitor a trough at 12:00 UTC on September 10. Little to no development of the system occurred as it began to slowly turn southwestward and by September 14, it was not expected to become a tropical cyclone due to strong upper-level winds produced by nearby Hurricane Sally. Nonetheless, the disturbance persisted and moved southwestward into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico where it began to organize as Sally moved away into the Southeastern United States early on September 16. The next day, hurricane hunters found a closed circulation, and as thunderstorms persisted near the center, the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Depression Twenty-Two at 23:00 UTC on September 17. However, post-season analysis revealed that the system had developed into a tropical depression several hours earlier, at 12:00 UTC that day. At 21:00 UTC on September 18, the system strengthened into Tropical Storm Beta, becoming the earliest forming 23rd