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The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was above-average in named storms, but well below-average in both hurricanes and major hurricanes. The season produced 17 subtropical or tropical cyclones, 15 of which became named storms. Three named storms went on to become hurricanes, while none were able to achieve major hurricane status. Thus, 2020 became the second season in ten years to feature zero major hurricanes; the first was 2013, seven years prior. Moreover, it also became the first below-average season since 2014, ending a streak of above-average seasons dating back to 2016. The season was generally non-destructive, with zero storms causing notable or significant damage despite over half of the season's systems affecting land. The season officially began on June 1, 2020, and ended on November 30, 2020. These dates historically describe the period in each year when most tropical cyclogenesis occurs in the North Atlantic and are adopted by convention. However, tropical cyclogenesis can occur at any point in the year, as demonstrated by the formation of Tropical Storm Arthur on May 16, a little over two weeks before the official start of the season.
While several systems struck various locations, such as Central America, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Bermuda, the overall impacts were fairly minimal. Tropical Storm Bertha originated in the Bay of Campeche in early June before hitting the Yucatán Peninsula, later winding up north of the region and striking the extreme western portion of the Floridian panhandle, killing three people throughout its trek. Tropical Storm Dolly made landfall a little over 20 miles south of Corpus Christi as a minimal tropical storm in late July, causing minor damage. Tropical Storm Fay became the next storm to hit the Gulf Coast of the United States, hitting eastern Texas a few days after forming near and delivering notable rainfall to Cuba in late August. At the time of both landfalls, it was a weak tropical storm; as a result, minimal damage was recorded, although five fatalities occurred in Cuba due to flash flooding caused by the system. Hurricane Hanna briefly moved through Cape Verde as a newly formed tropical storm in early September, causing little to no damage. Tropical Storm Isaias made successive landfalls near and along the Louisiana-Mississippi border in mid-September, though damage was generally insignificant. Canada was also impacted, with Hurricane Josephine moving through Newfoundland as an extratropical storm; the system's passage resulted in spotty weather across the region.
Becoming the next storm to impact the Gulf Coast, Tropical Storm Kyle made landfall near the Texas-Tamaulipas border in mid-to-late September, causing moderate damage. It dumped significant rainfall in the areas it hit due to its slow movement, causing localized flash flooding; seven deaths were attributed to the storm. Tropical Storm Laura made close approaches to both the Yucatán Peninsula and Cuba; It caused inclement weather on the coasts of both regions, though the storm did not directly hit either area. Hurricane Marco became the first tropical or subtropical cyclone since 2014's Hurricane Gonzalo to make landfall in Bermuda, resulting in modest damage on the island; additionally, one person drowned due to rip currents generated by the storm. Tropical Storm Nana made landfall in the Yucatán Peninsula as a tropical depression and Louisiana as a tropical storm; both impacts did not prove noteworthy, though three people died after a car accident in the city of Houma, Louisiana, which was due to bad weather caused by the system. Tropical Storm Omar, the final storm of the season, moved through Nicaragua and Honduras as a tropical storm before emerging in the northwest Caribbean; Omar later made its final landfall in Belize. Moderate damage occurred in the regions due to flash flooding; it was also the season's deadliest, with the storm claiming the lives of seventeen people.
All forecasting agencies predicted above-average activity, some well-above-average, citing factors such as the expectation of low wind shear, abnormally warm sea surface temperatures, and a neutral El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) or La Niña before the season's start. Following the appearance of more unfavorable conditions heading into the season's peak months, predictions were revised downward, though even those predictions proved to be too aggressive. While a neutral ENSO did come to fruition, unfavorable conditions still persisted in the basin, which hindered tropical cyclogenesis and strengthening despite the above-average amount of named storms. Early in 2020, officials in the United States expressed concerns the hurricane season could exacerbate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for coastal residents due to the potential for a breakdown of safety protocols such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
The season officially began on June 1, 2020. However, one storm, Tropical Storm Arthur, managed to form before that date. Forming late on May 16 to the north of the Bahamas, Arthur made a close approach to North Carolina before turning out to sea and turning post-tropical early on May 19. Arthur was the only pre-season system; the proper season kicked off with the development of Tropical Storm Bertha. Originating partially from the remnants of a tropical cyclone in the Eastern Pacific basin, Bertha looped while in the Bay of Campeche, making landfall in southern Mexico. Emerging to the north of the Yucatán Peninsula, Bertha reached its peak as a mid-range tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico before striking the Floridian panhandle and dissipating over the southeastern United States.
Towards the end of June, a subtropical depression formed to the south of Nova Scotia, designated Subtropical Depression Three. Three degenerated into a remnant low about a day later without impacting land. Following Three's dissipation, the Atlantic remained empty for a week and a half before the development of Tropical Storm Cristobal on July 4 to the southwest of Bermuda. Passing just north of the island territory, Cristobal became a moderate tropical storm before turning post-tropical and accelerating out to sea. No other storms formed until late in the same month, with the fifth tropical depression forming on July 23. Moving west-northwestward in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) towards the Gulf Coast of the United States, it strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Dolly just before landfall; Dolly did not cause noteworthy damage in the region.
Following another few quiet weeks in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Edouard formed to the northeast of North Carolina. The weak tropical storm headed to the east and merged with a frontal boundary while situated well to the south of Nova Scotia. After a week and a half of inactivity, Tropical Storm Fay emerged just off the coast of Cuba. Moving over the island and into the Gulf of Mexico, Fay would peak as a moderate tropical storm before striking Texas near peak intensity. Fay caused moderate damage in both Cuba and Texas, with five fatalities in the former nation being recorded after flash floods impacted the nation. By September 1, zero systems had attained hurricane-force sustained winds; it marked the first time the first hurricane of the season formed after the end of August since 2013.
September showed a significant uptick in activity from the prior months of the season, with six storms of at least tropical depression strength developing during the month. The first was Tropical Storm Gonzalo on September 6; the storm meandered west in the middle of the Atlantic ocean for a few days before degenerating into a remnant low. The season finally achieved its first hurricane after the formation of Hurricane Hanna. Materializing from a tropical wave in early September, Hanna moved through Cape Verde as a weak tropical storm before heading into the central Atlantic. Around six days after formation, Hanna attained hurricane intensity for a little over a day before turning extratropical while located between the Azores and Newfoundland.
Next was Tropical Storm Isaias, which initially emerged to the slight northwest of the Bahamas. Initially peaking as a tropical depression, the storm degenerated into a remnant low for a day and a half before regenerating and ultimately peaking as a weak tropical storm before striking eastern Louisiana, though it failed to cause notable damage. Hurricane Josephine became the first, and only, storm of the year to surpass Category 1 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale after it peaked as a minimal Category 2 hurricane while over the central Atlantic. A long-lived Cape Verde hurricane, the remnants of Josephine moved through Newfoundland while containing gale-force winds, causing inclement conditions across the province.
September 14 proved to be the season's most active day, with a total of four systems active on the date: Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, and the newly formed Tropical Depression Twelve. Twelve proved to be short-lived: it degenerated into a remnant low on September 16 while heading west into the open ocean. 2020 marked the first time a season was able to both produce four simultaneous storms and also not contain a singular major in the entire season, an unusual feat for the normally stronger basin. It was the second time in the past decade that the Atlantic achieved four storms at the same time, with the most recent example of this having occurred two years prior, in 2018. Tropical Storm Kyle was the month's final storm, peaking in the western Gulf of Mexico as a moderate tropical storm while churning slowly in the area; Kyle later made landfall in extreme southern Texas. It proved to be one of the year's more damaging systems, albeit still not being very noteworthy.
While the basin cooled down after the dissipation of Kyle, and by extension the end of September, October and November still featured four systems, with three in the former and one in the latter, respectively. Tropical Storm Laura formed in the western Caribbean during early October before reaching its peak intensity shortly after passing between the Yucatán Peninsula and Cuba in the southern Gulf of Mexico; Laura would dissipate over the open sea before making landfall, becoming an uncommon example of a Gulf of Mexico system dissipating without directly hitting land.
Hurricane Marco became the season's most intense storm; while the system only reached Category 1 intensity, albeit on the upper end of said category, it achieved a barometric pressure of 958 hPa (mbar) while in the west-central Atlantic. Forming from a non-tropical area of low pressure during mid-late October, Marco became the first storm to directly hit Bermuda at hurricane intensity since Gonzalo in 2014; it would prove to be the season's only hurricane strength landfall. Marco caused modest damage in the island territory, though not enough to make a significant impact.
Tropical Storm Nana was October's final storm, forming at the tail end of the month. Peaking as a moderate tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico after hitting the Yucatán Peninsula as a tropical depression, Nana struck Louisiana near peak intensity. Neither region sustained noteworthy damage from the storm. November's only system, as well as the closing storm of the season, Tropical Storm Omar, moved through (primarily) Nicaragura, Honduras and Belize as a weak to moderate tropical storm during the second half of the month, dumping decently pronounced amounts of rainfall across the region. Omar was the season's deadliest, with seventeen people dying due to the storm's flash flooding. The season reached its conclusion after Omar degenerated into a remnant low over extreme southeastern Mexico late on November 18.
Activity was primarily suppressed by unfavorable conditions across the Atlantic over the course of the season, which materialized in spite of the lack of an El Niño event occurring during the season. Instead, the year progressed to a neutral phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Despite the neutral phrase, however, conditions were not favorable for tropical cyclogenesis and the strengthening of tropical cyclones during the season. An above average amount of mineral dust, specifically Saharan dust coming off the coast of Africa, helped provide ample dry air and colder sea surface temperatures across the basin. The basin also contained abnormally strong wind shear, keeping intensification of tropical systems in check. These factors, as well as multiple others, resulted in a weak and overall below-average season.
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2020. The list of storm names for the 2020 season was the same list used in the 2014 season, as no names were retired from that year. The name Isaias was used for the first time; it was originally put on the list following the retirement of Ike after 2008, but went unused in 2014. So far, this is the only season in the 2020s to produce zero retired names; it also marked the second straight usage of List VI in the Atlantic without any retirements.
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gonzalo
Hanna
Isaias
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paulette (unused)
Rene (unused)
Sally (unused)
Teddy (unused)
Vicky (unused)
Wilfred (unused)
Notes[]
↑The "strength" of a tropical cyclone is measured by the minimum barometric pressure, not wind speed. Most meteorological organizations rate the intensity of a storm by this figure, so the lower the minimum pressure of the storm, the more intense or "stronger" it is considered to be. The strongest winds were actually from Josephine, at 100 mph (155 km/h).
