The most unforgettable weather photos of 2020 captured the year's truly memorable events
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jan 4, 2021 7:31 PM EDT
As 2020 comes to a close, AccuWeather takes a look back at some of the biggest weather stories of the year.
The past 12 months will be remembered in history books as a year like no other. For a plethora of reasons, 2020 was the year of what was and most certainly the year of what wasn't, and the same can be said for the weather events in the United States that were so powerfully captured this year.
From devastating tornado outbreaks to the hurricane season that never slept, with blizzards and wildfires in between, each of the 50 states seemed to have some of its craziest weather yet.
Here are just a few of the most memorable photos from this unforgettable year.
Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland.
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH)
Although not a distinctly weather event, 2020 will most certainly be remembered for how the coronavirus pandemic turned lives upside down. Where the story does become a weather event, however, is when elements such as heat, humidity and UV light impact the virus particles containing COVID-19.
Numerous studies conducted over the past year have analyzed how those weather elements can neutralize the virus or impact its behavior in the air.
On top of that, the stay-at-home restrictions that followed its outbreak have spanned each season since cases began surging. Residents in the U.S. have experienced a spring, summer, fall and now winter with the virus, with each season bringing its own difficulties. In the summer, cities urged people to maintain social distancing even as they enjoyed the warmer weather.
Two young women relax in a circle marked on the grass for proper social distancing in Brooklyn's Domino Park as others do the same to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Monday, May 18, 2020, in New York. The small park, which offers good views of the Manhattan skyline and the Williamsburg bridge, was the site of severe overcrowding during a spate of unseasonably warm weather just over a week ago. The circles have been added to promote good behavior on the park of park visitors. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
A satellite image from September encapsulated the craziness that was 2020's weather in the U.S. In the same image, smoke from record-breaking wildfires could be seen drifting across the country while Hurricane Sally loomed in the Gulf of Mexico. Off the East Coast, Hurricane Paulette, then at Category 2 strength, was also present before it made landfall in northeastern Bermuda on Sept. 14.
The spread of the intense wildfire smoke advanced throughout the country as the blazes in California toppled numerous records. Five of the six largest wildfires in state history raged in 2020, most notably led by the August Complex. Triggered by summer lightning strikes, a group of separate blazes grew together and combined to burn over 1 million acres.
Satellite imagery of wildfire smoke from the western U.S. that has traveled to the eastern part of the country. Meanwhile, a weakened Hurricane Sally churned in the Gulf on Sept. 15, 2020, as Paulette strengthened out in the Atlantic. (CIRA/RAMMBA/GOES-East/edit by Adam Del Rosso)
Weeks before the pandemic left people in their homes for months to come, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in Tennessee history left many people homeless.
From March 2-3, the outbreak featured the sixth costliest tornado in U.S. history, which struck northern Nashville, and over a dozen other twisters that killed a total of 25 people and injured over 300 more.
According to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, the damage from the outbreak, which also spread twisters into Alabama and Kentucky, totaled over $1.6 billion in damage.
The strongest tornado of the outbreak, a twister that ravaged Putnam County on March 3, reached EF4 strength and spanned 900 yards wide, according to NOAA. The historic tornado was responsible for 19 fatalities and 88 injuries during its 8-mile track.
Retired Marine Todd Winn kneeling in silent protest outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 5, 2020. The temperature soared to 100 degrees and the soles of Winn's shoes melted. (Robin Pendergrast)
In early June, United States Marine veteran Todd Winn silently protested the killing of George Floyd for three hours outside of the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City. Winn withstood 100-degree temperatures while holding a sign that read "Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice and countless others."
The intense heat caused the soles of his shoes to melt onto the pavement where he stood, a day that had temperatures so high that they eclipsed the previous daily record of 98 set 20 years prior.
Winn knelt for hours in silent protest outside in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 5, 2020. Record-breaking temperatures reached 100 degrees, melting the soles of Winn’s shoes. (Robin Pendergrast)
Robin Pendergrast
Among the dozens of tropical storms that formed during 2020's record-breaking hurricane season, Hurricane Zeta made for one of the most memorable landfalls of the season.
Scores of buildings in the small coastal Louisiana village of Cocodrie, where Hurricane Zeta made landfall as a Category 2 storm on Oct. 28, 2020, had the roofs ripped off by sustained winds of 110 mph. (AccuWeather / Brandon Clement)
(AccuWeather / Brandon Clement)
Zeta struck Lousiana with Category 2 strength in late October and made sure to hit the regions that hadn't been previously impacted by the four previous named storms to hit the state earlier in the hurricane season.
After so many blows, many buildings in the state were left without roofs or siding, like the one seen below.
Wind ripped apart the roof of this building near Cocodrie, Louisiana, where Hurricane Zeta made landfall as a Category 2 storm on Oct. 28, 2020. (AccuWeather / Jonathan Petramala)
(AccuWeather / Jonathan Petramala)
Many other structures were toppled over by the intense winds and damaged by the ensuing floods. Tragically, that damage didn't stay contained to Lousiana, either.
Elsewhere in the Southeast, the remnants of quick-moving Zeta left over 2 million people without power at one point. The storm claimed multiple lives in Georgia and Alabama as a result of fallen trees.
A post office truck was crushed by a tree in Statesville, N.C., due to high winds from Tropical Storm Zeta, but the driver was reportedly uninjured. (Twitter/James D. Hogan)
(Twitter/James D. Hogan)
This photo, provided by the New York State Police, shows a car, in Owego, NY, from which a New York State Police sergeant rescued Kevin Kresen, 58, of Candor, NY, stranded for 10 hours, covered by nearly 4 feet of snow thrown by a plow during this week's storm. Authorities say the New York State Police sergeant rescued Kresen stranded for hours in a car covered by nearly 4 feet of snow thrown by a plow during this week’s storm. The 58-year-old Candor man drove off the road and got plowed in by a truck. (New York State Police via AP)
After a dull and largely snowless winter the year before, the 2020-21 season started early as multiple feet of snow fell in many areas of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast before the winter officially began. Over 40 inches of snow were recorded in areas of southern New York while multiple locations throughout New England topped 3 feet.
In Pennsylvania, one woman noticed snow on her tree that appeared to be in the form of Santa Claus. Carol Flynn told AccuWeather the photo was taken during the nor'easter and added, "We all need a smile during 2020."
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather News
The most unforgettable weather photos of 2020 captured the year's truly memorable events
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jan 4, 2021 7:31 PM EDT
As 2020 comes to a close, AccuWeather takes a look back at some of the biggest weather stories of the year.
The past 12 months will be remembered in history books as a year like no other. For a plethora of reasons, 2020 was the year of what was and most certainly the year of what wasn't, and the same can be said for the weather events in the United States that were so powerfully captured this year.
From devastating tornado outbreaks to the hurricane season that never slept, with blizzards and wildfires in between, each of the 50 states seemed to have some of its craziest weather yet.
Here are just a few of the most memorable photos from this unforgettable year.
COVID-19 particles impacted by weather factors
Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland.
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH)
Although not a distinctly weather event, 2020 will most certainly be remembered for how the coronavirus pandemic turned lives upside down. Where the story does become a weather event, however, is when elements such as heat, humidity and UV light impact the virus particles containing COVID-19.
Numerous studies conducted over the past year have analyzed how those weather elements can neutralize the virus or impact its behavior in the air.
On top of that, the stay-at-home restrictions that followed its outbreak have spanned each season since cases began surging. Residents in the U.S. have experienced a spring, summer, fall and now winter with the virus, with each season bringing its own difficulties. In the summer, cities urged people to maintain social distancing even as they enjoyed the warmer weather.
Two young women relax in a circle marked on the grass for proper social distancing in Brooklyn's Domino Park as others do the same to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Monday, May 18, 2020, in New York. The small park, which offers good views of the Manhattan skyline and the Williamsburg bridge, was the site of severe overcrowding during a spate of unseasonably warm weather just over a week ago. The circles have been added to promote good behavior on the park of park visitors. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Satellite captures intersection of historic hurricane, wildfire seasons
A satellite image from September encapsulated the craziness that was 2020's weather in the U.S. In the same image, smoke from record-breaking wildfires could be seen drifting across the country while Hurricane Sally loomed in the Gulf of Mexico. Off the East Coast, Hurricane Paulette, then at Category 2 strength, was also present before it made landfall in northeastern Bermuda on Sept. 14.
The spread of the intense wildfire smoke advanced throughout the country as the blazes in California toppled numerous records. Five of the six largest wildfires in state history raged in 2020, most notably led by the August Complex. Triggered by summer lightning strikes, a group of separate blazes grew together and combined to burn over 1 million acres.
Satellite imagery of wildfire smoke from the western U.S. that has traveled to the eastern part of the country. Meanwhile, a weakened Hurricane Sally churned in the Gulf on Sept. 15, 2020, as Paulette strengthened out in the Atlantic. (CIRA/RAMMBA/GOES-East/edit by Adam Del Rosso)
Tornado outbreak devastates Tennessee
Weeks before the pandemic left people in their homes for months to come, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in Tennessee history left many people homeless.
From March 2-3, the outbreak featured the sixth costliest tornado in U.S. history, which struck northern Nashville, and over a dozen other twisters that killed a total of 25 people and injured over 300 more.
According to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, the damage from the outbreak, which also spread twisters into Alabama and Kentucky, totaled over $1.6 billion in damage.
The strongest tornado of the outbreak, a twister that ravaged Putnam County on March 3, reached EF4 strength and spanned 900 yards wide, according to NOAA. The historic tornado was responsible for 19 fatalities and 88 injuries during its 8-mile track.
Marine's shoes melt amid protest in 100-degree heat
Retired Marine Todd Winn kneeling in silent protest outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 5, 2020. The temperature soared to 100 degrees and the soles of Winn's shoes melted. (Robin Pendergrast)
In early June, United States Marine veteran Todd Winn silently protested the killing of George Floyd for three hours outside of the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City. Winn withstood 100-degree temperatures while holding a sign that read "Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice and countless others."
The intense heat caused the soles of his shoes to melt onto the pavement where he stood, a day that had temperatures so high that they eclipsed the previous daily record of 98 set 20 years prior.
Winn knelt for hours in silent protest outside in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 5, 2020. Record-breaking temperatures reached 100 degrees, melting the soles of Winn’s shoes. (Robin Pendergrast)
Hurricane Zeta rips buildings apart in Lousiana
Among the dozens of tropical storms that formed during 2020's record-breaking hurricane season, Hurricane Zeta made for one of the most memorable landfalls of the season.
Scores of buildings in the small coastal Louisiana village of Cocodrie, where Hurricane Zeta made landfall as a Category 2 storm on Oct. 28, 2020, had the roofs ripped off by sustained winds of 110 mph. (AccuWeather / Brandon Clement)
Zeta struck Lousiana with Category 2 strength in late October and made sure to hit the regions that hadn't been previously impacted by the four previous named storms to hit the state earlier in the hurricane season.
After so many blows, many buildings in the state were left without roofs or siding, like the one seen below.
Wind ripped apart the roof of this building near Cocodrie, Louisiana, where Hurricane Zeta made landfall as a Category 2 storm on Oct. 28, 2020. (AccuWeather / Jonathan Petramala)
Many other structures were toppled over by the intense winds and damaged by the ensuing floods. Tragically, that damage didn't stay contained to Lousiana, either.
Elsewhere in the Southeast, the remnants of quick-moving Zeta left over 2 million people without power at one point. The storm claimed multiple lives in Georgia and Alabama as a result of fallen trees.
A post office truck was crushed by a tree in Statesville, N.C., due to high winds from Tropical Storm Zeta, but the driver was reportedly uninjured. (Twitter/James D. Hogan)
Record-breaking nor'easter blankets Northeast, paints Santa Claus on a tree
This photo, provided by the New York State Police, shows a car, in Owego, NY, from which a New York State Police sergeant rescued Kevin Kresen, 58, of Candor, NY, stranded for 10 hours, covered by nearly 4 feet of snow thrown by a plow during this week's storm. Authorities say the New York State Police sergeant rescued Kresen stranded for hours in a car covered by nearly 4 feet of snow thrown by a plow during this week’s storm. The 58-year-old Candor man drove off the road and got plowed in by a truck. (New York State Police via AP)
After a dull and largely snowless winter the year before, the 2020-21 season started early as multiple feet of snow fell in many areas of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast before the winter officially began. Over 40 inches of snow were recorded in areas of southern New York while multiple locations throughout New England topped 3 feet.
In Pennsylvania, one woman noticed snow on her tree that appeared to be in the form of Santa Claus. Carol Flynn told AccuWeather the photo was taken during the nor'easter and added, "We all need a smile during 2020."
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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