2020 Atlantic hurricane season (Steve)

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was an above-average and devastating tropical cyclone season. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period of year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first tropical cyclone of the season, Arthur, formed just a day after the season officially began.

The season witnessed two Category 5 hurricanes (Fay and Isaias), the first such occurrence in three years (since the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season) and one of only seven years on record to have multiple Category 5 hurricanes. Also, a total of seven systems brought tropical storm force winds to the United States, including Kyle which only struck the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Overall, the 2020 season accumulated the highest ACE since 2017 and had the worst overall impacts since that year.

Seasonal forecasts
Ahead of and during the season, several national meteorological services and scientific agencies forecast how many named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale) will form during a season, and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a particular country. These agencies include the Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) Consortium of the University College London, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Colorado State University (CSU). The forecasts include weekly and monthly changes in significant factors that help determine the number of tropical storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes within a particular year. Some of these forecasts also take into consideration what happened in previous seasons and the ENSO-Neutral conditions of 2020. On average, an Atlantic hurricane season between 1981 and 2010 contained twelve tropical storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes, with an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index of between 66 and 103 units.

Pre-season outlooks
The first outlook of the year was released by TSR, predicting a near-average season of 13 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. Later on in the spring of 2020, CSU released their outlook on April 5th, predicting a near-average season of 12 named storms, 5 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. On the same day, TSR released a revised prediction, ticking the hurricane count up to 7 and the major count up to 3 citing that the ENSO-Neutral conditions may allow the Atlantic to be favorable enough for a handful of hurricanes to form in 2020. North Carolina State University (NCSU) released their prediction on April 15th, calling for a near-to-above average season of 11-15 named storms, 5-7 hurricanes, and 2-4 majors. Two days later, The Weather Channel (TWC) forecasted 13 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. Later on, as the start of the season closed in, NOAA released a forecast on May 25 predicting 10 to 16 named storms, 5 to 9 hurricanes, and 2 to 4 majors and alerting that the Atlantic may see another formidable season this year. TSR followed with an updated forecast on May 27, increasing their numbers to 14 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. They cited anomalous warming in parts of the Atlantic over the spring could be a harbinger of an upcoming active season. The final prediction before the start of the season came from the UK Met Office on May 29, forecasting that around 13 named storms and 7 hurricanes could form within the seasonal boundaries of the 2020 season, as well as a total Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) value of approximately 135 units.

Mid-season outlooks
On the first official day of the season, TWC and CSU released updated forecasts. They upped their forecasts to 15 tropical storms, 8 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes; and 14 tropical storms, 7 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes respectively. Both agencies noted that trends seen in the tropical Atlantic over the past few months, such as anomalous warming, are increasing the chances for an above-average season. After Arthur and Bertha developed, CSU followed up on July 6 with an updated forecast that increased the number of named storms to 15 and major hurricanes to 3. TSR released their updated forecast on the same day, slightly downgrading the number of hurricanes to 7 and major hurricanes to 2. The final three predictions came in early August after Dolly and Five developed. CSU on August 3 upped their hurricane count to 8, citing that the season has been going at a relatively active pace so far. The next day, TSR upped their hurricane count to 8 and major hurricane count to 3, citing that the active early season is a preview of what could come later on. The final prediction on August 10 came from NOAA, who updated their forecast with little changes except for the named storm count narrowing to 11-16.

Seasonal summary
The season officially began on June 1. Just a day later, the first storm of the season, Arthur, developed subtropical. It later became tropical before dissipation out to sea. June also saw the season's first hurricane, Bertha, which hit the Gulf Coast.

In early July, Cristobal developed in the MDR and intensified to Category 2 strength before dissipating as it entered the Caribbean. July later saw tropical storm Dolly and depression Five; both were weak storms that affected northern Mexico and the southeastern United States respectively.

In August, activity began to increase with Edouard as a Category 2 in the middle of the month; it stayed out to sea. However, Fay would develop soon after, and become the season's first Category 5 hurricane. Fay was a very long-lived hurricane that developed in the MDR, tracked slowly through the Caribbean, entered the Gulf Coast, and meandered near Texas in a fashion similar to Harvey in 2017. Fay became among the costliest hurricanes in history, which resulted in the retirement of the name in the spring of 2021; its replacement is Faith. After Fay, August concluded with Tropical Storm Gonzalo, which stayed out to sea.

Activity continued to increase in September, with four storms in total developing during the month and Fay remaining active into the early part of the month. The first system, Hanna, hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 1. Isaias followed, which was the season's next Category 5. Isaias was a particularly ominous storm, and was the costliest system to strike the Lesser Antilles since Irma and Maria of 2017. It later hit the southeast of the United States, still as a major hurricane. Isaias ended up being the costliest hurricane ever recorded, with damage totals in excess of $155 billion, mainly due to its impacts in the Lesser Antilles (Puerto Rico, etc.) and the mainland United States. The name Isaias was later retired and replaced by Irving for the 2026 season. By the end of the month, two new systems formed that were named Josephine and Kyle. Josephine was a brief tropical storm that existed near Cuba. Kyle developed in the eastern Caribbean, turned north into areas recovering from Isaias, and peaked as a C2 in the open Atlantic ocean.

October saw the formation of three more systems, two of which were named. Kyle continued to be active in the early part of the month. The first October formation was Hurricane Laura, which peaked at Category 4 intensity (the third and final major of the season) and devastated Bermuda and brought impacts to New England. Laura was one of the most devastating hurricanes in Bermudian history, similar to Fabian in 2003. The name was later retired and replaced by Lynn. Afterward, Marco developed in the western Caribbean and struck Mexico, making two landfalls in the Yucatan and Veracruz. Notably Marco interacted with Polo in the Eastern Pacific, which made landfall in Mexico at the same time Marco existed. The two systems combined to cause major flooding in mainland Mexico, however none of the names were retired. The final October formation was Tropical Depression Fifteen, which was short lived in the MDR.

The season concluded with Nana in early November, which was a Category 1 hurricane that struck Central America, the Yucatan, and the Gulf Coast of the United States. Overall, this was a notable season with above-average activity and some of the costliest storms on record.

(Accumulated cyclone energy coming later)

Tropical Storm Arthur
Main article: Tropical Storm Arthur (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Bertha
Main article: Hurricane Bertha (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Cristobal
Main article: Hurricane Cristobal (2020 - Steve)

Tropical Storm Dolly
Main article: Tropical Storm Dolly (2020 - Steve)

Tropical Depression Five
Main article: Tropical Depression Five (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Edouard
Main article: Hurricane Edouard (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Fay
Main article: Hurricane Fay (2020 - Steve)

Tropical Storm Gonzalo
Main article: Tropical Storm Gonzalo (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Hanna
Main article: Hurricane Hanna (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Isaias
Main article: Hurricane Isaias (2020 - Steve)

Tropical Storm Josephine
Main article: Tropical Storm Josephine (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Kyle
Main article: Hurricane Kyle (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Laura
Main article: Hurricane Laura (2020 - Steve)

Tropical Storm Marco
Main article: Tropical Storm Marco (2020 - Steve)

Tropical Depression Fifteen
Main article: Tropical Depression Fifteen (2020 - Steve)

Hurricane Nana
Main article: Hurricane Nana (2020 - Steve)

Storm names
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2020. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2026 season. This was the same list used in the 2014 season.

Retirement
On April 4, 2021, at the 43rd session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the names Fay, Isaias, and Laura from its rotating name lists due to the amount of damage and deaths they caused, and they will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They will be replaced with Faith, Irving, and Lynn for the 2026 season, respectively.

Season effects
(Season effects coming later)