2020 Pacific hurricane season (Steve)

The 2020 Pacific hurricane season was an above average season, producing 21 tropical depressions, of which 19 strengthened to tropical storm status, 10 became hurricanes, and 5 strengthened to major hurricane strength (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale). The season officially began on May 15, 2020, and ended on November 30, 2020. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the eastern Pacific basin.

The season was an active one, mainly due to a weak El Nino which persisted from 2019 into this season. However, the El Nino dissipated by autumn, and conditions became ENSO-Neutral at that time. The strongest storm, Rachel, was a Category 5 that curved northeast and struck Mexico. It was the most damaging storm of the season, but was not retired. Other storms that struck land were Boris, Fausto, Iselle, Karina, Lowell, and Polo. Boris, Karina, and Polo were the only storms of this batch to not reach hurricane strength in their lifetimes. The other storms stayed out to sea. The only central Pacific storms of the season were Keli and Lala; both did not affect land. The 2020 season had no retired names.

Seasonal summary
The season officially began on May 15. Activity initially seemed quiet before Hurricane Amanda formed on May 21. Amanda was a Category 2 that did not affect land. Boris and Tropical Depression 3E followed in June, with Boris being a land-affecting tropical storm affecting the Sinaloa region. 3E did not affect land. July brought much more activity; tropical storms Cristina and Douglas, Category 1 Fausto, and Category 4 Elida and Genevieve formed in this month. Only Fausto affected land out of all July storms. Fausto brought impacts along the southern Mexico coast as it skirted along the coast. In August, the EPac continued producing plenty of activity, with four tropical storms (Hernan, Julio, Karina, and Lala), one regular hurricane (Keli) and one major hurricane (Iselle) forming in this period. Keli and Lala were the only two Central Pacific forming storms of the season, and both formed in August. Only Iselle and Karina affected land, and both brought impacts to the Baja Peninsula and the Sinaloa region. September saw less storms, but all storms forming during the month were hurricanes. The month saw Category 4 Lowell, Category 1 Marie, and Category 2 Norbert. Only Lowell affected land, affecting Mexico. Activity continued in October, with two tropical storms (Odalys and Polo) and a major Category 5 hurricane (Rachel). Rachel was the strongest storm of the season, and brought destructive impacts along the southern coast of Mexico and up to the Sinaloa region. November saw only one out to sea tropical depression, which concluded the season. Overall, the 2020 Pacific hurricane season ended up being relatively active.

Storm names
The following names were used to name tropical cyclones in the East Pacific this year. This is the same list used in the 2014 season, expect for Odalys, which replaced Odile, the name of a destructive hurricane that devastated the Baja Peninsula. Names that were not used during the season are marked in.

No names were retired this year, thus the same naming list will be reused in the 2026 season.

Central Pacific
In the Central Pacific, if a storm reaches tropical storm intensity, it is given a name from a different naming list. Two names, Keli and Lala, were used this year. The names ranging from "Ulika" to "Iona" were used from 2016 to 2019.

Season effects
(Section coming later)