Hurricane Delta
Current storm status Category 4 hurricane (1-min mean)
Satellite image Forecast map
As of:	11:20 a.m. EDT (15:20 UTC October 6) October 6
Location:	17°30′N 81°18′W / 17.5°N 81.3°W / 17.5; -81.3 (Hurricane Delta) ± 20 nm About 315 mi (675 km) ESE of Cozumel, Mexico About 125 mi (200 km) SW of Grand Cayman
Sustained winds:	115 kn (130 mph; 215 km/h) (1-min mean) gusting to 180 kn (205 mph; 335 km/h)
Pressure:	954 mbar (28.17 inHg)
Movement:	WNW at 6 kt (7 mph; 11 km/h)
See more detailed information.

Hurricane Delta is currently an explosively intensifying and extremely powerful Category 4 major hurricane that is impacting Jamaica while threatening the Cayman Islands, the Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba, and the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is one of the only hurricanes to use the Greek alphabet and become a major hurricane because it is usually late in the season. The twenty-sixth tropical cyclone, twenty-fifth named storm, ninth hurricane, third major hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, and the fourth storm named from the Greek alphabet in the year, Delta formed from a tropical wave which was first monitored by the NHC on October 1. After moving westward with developing for two days, the wave, which was dubbed Invest 92L, began to quickly organize and due to its imminent threat to land, it was designated Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Six at 21:00 UTC on October 4. At 03:00 UTC the next day, the system sufficiently organized and was designated as Tropical Depression Twenty-Six. Nine hours later, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Delta, becoming the earliest 25th named storm on record, surpassing Tropical Storm Gamma of 2005 by 44 days. Shortly after its upgrade, Delta began to rapidly intensify, reaching hurricane status at 00:00 UTC the next day, and reached Category 4 intensity not even 12 hours later.

Widespread tropical cyclone watches and warnings were issued throughout the Western Caribbean and the states of Yucatán and Quintana Roo in preparation for the storm.

At 00:00 UTC on October 1, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to monitor a tropical wave moving into the Eastern Caribbean for potential development.^[1] It moved steadily westward at 15–20 miles per hour (24–32 km/h) and began to organize late on October 3.^[2] Although it lacked sufficient organization to be deemed a tropical cyclone, its imminent threat to land prompted the NHC to initiate advisories on the disturbance, classifying it as Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Six at 21:00 UTC at October 4.^[3] At 03:00 UTC on October 5, it organized into a tropical depression.^[4] Nine hours later, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm, whereupon it was assigned the name Delta.^[5] Continuing westward in defiance of forecast that repeatedly said it would turn northwestward, Delta began a period of explosive intensification, becoming a hurricane 12 hours after being named.^[6] It then finally began to turn northwestward early on October 6.^[7] Just 9 hours later, it continued to explosively intensify, reaching Category 2 status at 09:00 UTC.^[8] By 12:30 UTC, Delta had began to develop a small pinhole eye around its of only 6 nm.^[9]At 15:00 UTC, the NHC proclaimed that Delta was Category 3, and twenty minutes later, the NHC issued an update statement announcing that data from a hurricane hunter aircraft showed that Delta became a Category 4 hurricane.^[10]

As of 11:00 a.m. EDT (15:00 UTC October 6) October 6, Hurricane Delta is located within 20 nautical miles of 18°12′N 82°36′W / 18.2°N 82.6°W / 18.2; -82.6 (Delta), about 320 mi (520 km) east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and about 120 mi (190 km) southwest of Grand Cayman. Maximum sustained winds are 115 knots (130 mph; 215 km/h) with gusts up to 120 knots (140 mph; 220 km/h). The minimum barometric pressure is 955 mbar (28.20 inHg), and the system is moving west-northwest at 14 knots (16 mph; 26 km/h). Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 90 miles (150 km) from the center.

For the latest official information, see:

• The NHC's latest public advisory on Hurricane Delta
• The NHC's latest forecast advisory on Hurricane Delta
• The NHC's latest forecast discussion on Hurricane Delta

Template:HurricaneWarningsTable

Tropical storm warnings was issued for the islands of Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac when advisories were first initiated on Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Six.^[11] In the Cayman Islands, all public schools were closed from October 5 to October 6 as the rainbands were forecast to bring high winds and flooding to the islands. All government offices were on the afternoon of October 5 and remained closed for the entire day on October 6. Cayman Airways reported cancellation of its flights. The Red Cross shelter on Huldah Avenue is on stand-by in the event of flooding. The government set up facilities for shelter with proper protocol for COVID-19 for people with the virus isolating at home. All Government events on October 5-6 were cancelled, including Older Person’s Month activities.^[12]

When the initial advisory was issued for Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Six, a hurricane watch was issued for the provinces Pinar del Río, Artemisa and the Isle of Youth while a tropical storm watch was issued for La Habana.^[11] Three hours after the storm was upgraded to Tropical Storm Delta, the watch for Pinar del Río was upgraded to a hurricane warning while a Tropical Storm Warning was issued for the Isle of Youth.^[13] This, however, was downgraded to a tropical storm warning when Hurricane Delta jogged south and put less of the area in harm’s way.^[6]

Just minutes after tropical storm watches and warnings for Tropical Storm Gamma were dropped from the Yucatan Peninsula, a hurricane warning was issued for the northeastern part of the peninsula after Delta jogged south, putting more of the region in the line of potential impact.^[14][15] More tropical storm warnings were put up shortly thereafter.^[6] President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported on October 6 that Admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán, Secretary of the Navy and Laura Velázquez, National Coordinator of Civil Protection, were traveling to Quintana Roo to help with preparations of Hurricane Delta. The federal government also had been communicating with Governor of Quintana Roo Carlos Joaquín González since October 5.^[16]

The oil drilling companies of BP and BHP began evacuating non-essential personnel from their offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. BHP also plans to shut production at its facilities by October 7.^[17]

The precursor to Delta brought squally weather in the Lesser Antilles, ABC Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola.^[18][19]

• Tropical cyclones in 2020
• Hurricane Lili (2002) – Category 4 hurricane that affected similar areas
• Hurricane Emily (2005) – Category 5 hurricane that affected similar areas
• Hurricane Wilma (2005) - Very powerful Category 5 hurricane that affected similar areas
• Hurricane Gustav (2008) – Category 4 hurricane that affected similar areas

• The National Hurricane Center's Advisory Archive on Tropical Storm Delta
• National Hurricane Center (NHC)