The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was an annual period of tropical cyclone formation in the Northern Atlantic that ran from May 30 to November 18. 2020 was the record-breaking sixth season to begin before the official start date, June 1, sparking much media coverage over the possibility that the limits of the season could be changed to an earlier start date. However, the World Meteorological Agency (WMO) reiterated that no changes were being considered at the time. Aside from the early start date, the season featured fairly average activity, with twelve named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes of category 3 strength or greater.
By far the most intense and damaging storm was Hurricane Josephine, which tied with Hurricane Allen of 1980 as the strongest Atlantic hurricane in terms of wind speed. The storm passed just to the north of most of the Leeward Isles and Greater Antilles, with much of the catastrophic core staying offshore. As a result, despite its strength, Josephine caused significantly less damage than expected. The entire season as a whole saw a relatively low amount of damage and fatalities; both were at their lowest since the 2015 season.
Seasonal summary[]
Systems[]
Subtropical Storm Arthur[]
| Subtropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | May 30 – May 31 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 999 mbar (hPa) |
Subtropical Storm Arthur originated from a disturbed area of weather southwest of Jamaica. The disorganized cluster of thunderstorms slowly drifted to the northwest and began interacting with a cold front, which pulled it north. A secondary low developed as the cold front began to weaken and began retreating. Initially, Arthur's precursor remained embedded in the frontal boundary, causing it to accelerate. However, by the afternoon hours of May 29, reconnaissance aircraft observed that separation had begun. Baroclinic forcing allowed the low to intensify fairly quickly, and by the time Subtropical Storm Arthur was declared at 00:00 UTC on May 30, winds had increased to 50 mph (85 km/h). Just two hours after classification, Arthur moved ashore in the Big Bend region of Florida, near the town of Steinhatchee. By daylight hours, the center of the storm had already reemerged over the Atlantic Ocean, and impacts had concluded in much state. Continuing to the northeast, Arthur encountered the Gulf Stream and began strengthening once again. The storm peaked at 00:00 UTC on May 31 with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 999 millibars. Shortly after reaching peak intensity, Arthur's appearance began to rapidly degrade as the cyclone approached a cold front. Twelve hours later, the center became embedded in the frontal boundary, and Arthur was declared post-tropical at 12:00 UTC that same day.
Arthur's effects in Cube, Mexico, and the United States were minimal. In the Caribbean, impacts were restricted to some occasional heavy rainfall. The most serious effects in the United States occurred in Florida, where heavy rainfall and wind caused disruptions in the northern parts of the state. In other parts of the Southeast, heavy rainfall and occasional winds caused issues for travel. In total, one person was killed by Arthur when a tree was uprooted by wind and fell on a mobile home.
Hurricane Bertha[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | June 14 – June 17 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min) 990 mbar (hPa) |
The beginnings of Hurricane Bertha can be traced back to a disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms. As is usual with June tropical cyclone formations in the Gulf of Mexico, Bertha's precursor was originally embedded in the Central American Gyre. An area of low pressure developed within the broad circulation of the gyre and gradually moved to the northwest into the Bay of Campeche. Over water, the low struggled to organize, as it was still entangled with the larger gyre system. Initially drifting southwestwards, the low turned to the northwest and finally began to show signs of organization. After several days of very slow development, Tropical Depression Two was finally declared at 06:00 UTC on June 14. Initial forecasts expected the depression to remain weak and disorganized, but those quickly began to change when Two was upgraded to a tropical storm at 00:00 UTC on June 15, receiving the name Bertha. After becoming a tropical storm, Bertha turned to the west under the influence of a high pressure to its northeast. The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and relatively low wind shear allowed for further strengthening to occur as the cyclone headed for the Mexican coast. By midday on the 15th, hurricane warnings were put into effect for a large swath of the Mexican coast. Just hours before landfall, Bertha reached hurricane strength and slowed down drastically, prolonging effects in the area. The hurricane came ashore at peak intensity just north of the major port city of Tampico at 12:00 UTC on June 16; at time of landfall, sustained winds were at 75 mph (120 km/h), while the minimum pressure had bottomed out at 990 millibars. After landfall, Bertha rapidly weakened over the dry Mexican terrain. By June 17, the storm had weakened to a depression, and advisories were discontinued at 06:00 UTC later that day as Bertha degenerated into a remnant low.
Bertha caused serious disruption in northern Veracruz and southern Tamaulipas states. The storm made landfall in Tamaulipas, just north of Tampico. The shipping and oil industry of the region was heavily disrupted by the storm, with debris filling the vital Pánuco River waterway. Considerable flooding occured in parts of central and northern Tamaulipas, as well as mudslides in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains. In total, 7 fatalities were reported as a result of Bertha. Property damage was estimated around $800 million (2020 USD).
Tropical Storm Cristobal[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | July 5 – July 8 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1004 mbar (hPa) |
The precursor that would eventually become Tropical Storm Cristobal originated from Africa. An early season tropical wave exited the continent and headed westward over the central tropical Atlantic. Hostile conditions prevented any significant organization, with dry air keeping a lid on thunderstorm activity. The fast forward speed of the wave also prevented it from organizing, with many thunderstorms becoming far removed from the area of low pressure. However, as the low neared the Lesser Antilles, dry air abated, allowing some development to begin. Repeated reconnaissance flights over the next several days noted greater and greater levels of organization, before the wave was finally designated as Tropical Depression Three at 06:00 UTC on July 5. The depression made an uneventful landfall in northern Martinique six hours later, before quickly moving into the eastern Caribbean. At 18:00 UTC that same day, a NOAA aircraft discovered that sustained winds had increased to roughly 40 mph (65 km/h), making the depression a tropical storm. Shortly after, Tropical Storm Cristobal was designated by the NHC. The low pressure struggled against high shear, and the exact status of the tropical cyclone was uncertain. Not long after Cristobal's initial designation, another Air Force aircraft found that a new center had reformed on the western flank of the storm, while the old low had opened up at approximately 00:00 UTC on July 6. The new center was short lived however, and only twelve hours later a second center reformation occurred. With the third new low, the forward speed of the cyclone slowed significantly. As a result, some minor strengthening managed to occur, and Cristobal peaked as a very disorganized and weak tropical storm with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a pressure of 1004 millibars at 18:00 UTC. Not long after peak, the appearance of the storm began to degrade even further due to land interaction with Puerto Rico, and Cristobal lost tropical storm status just twelve hours after peak. The weakening depression hobbled ashore just east of the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo at 18:00 UTC on July 7 and practically stalled over the capital region. The depression continued to unravel as it moved extremely slowly over the island, eventually becoming a remnant low at 06:00 UTC the following morning. Cristobal's remnants moved northeastwards into the open Atlantic ocean before fizzling several days later.
The weak storm's most serious effects occured in Hispaniola, where the stalling depression dropped torrential rain over the mountains of the island over a period of roughly 18 hours. Mudslides were common in mountainous regions, and the government of the Dominican Republic dispatched over 100 rescue units into the inland provinces of the country. 10 fatalities were caused by flooding in Hispaniola, with an additional death in Martinique when a person was swept out to sea. Property damage totaled around $200 million (2020 USD).
Tropical Storm Dolly[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | August 2 – August 4 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1002 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Dolly began as an area of disturbed weather over central Africa. The wave headed westward before it emerged over the Atlantic Ocean at the end of July. Conditions over the central Atlantic were gradually becoming more favorable for tropical development as the season headed towards climatological peak, and the wave took advantage of a pocket of moist air located to the south and west of Cape Verde. Thunderstorm activity soon flourished over the wave, and cyclonic development began shortly after. Only two days after emerging off the coast of Africa, satellite imagery indicated a healthy and well defined tropical wave, and Tropical Depression Four was declared at 12:00 UTC on August 2. Conditions remained favorable for intensification, and the depression became a tropical storm six hours later, earning the name Dolly. Strengthening continued until the following afternoon, when Dolly peaked with 50 mph (85 km/h) winds and a pressure of 1002 millibars. Dry air soon began infiltrating the cyclone as it turned to the northwest. Weakening quickly ensued, and by August 4, the tropical storm had weakened to a depression. As quickly as it had formed, Dolly degenerated into a remnant low at 18:00 UTC on August 4 as all convection virtually vaporized due to a very dry environment. The remannts lingered for another day before dissipating entirely.
Dolly stayed over the far open ocean for all of its brief life, and caused no impacts in any land areas.
Tropical Storm Edouard[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
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| Duration | August 5 – August 7 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) 1010 mbar (hPa) |
A large, disorganized gyre system developed at the turn of the month. Fairly unusual for the time of year, it gradually organized and was soon deemed an area of interest by the National Hurricane Center. A low associated with the system emerged off the coast of Central America in the morning hours August 3. It slowly drifted, first northeast and then northwest, before turning on a westerly course. The system remained very large, but reconnaissance aircraft found conclusive evidence that a tropical cyclone had developed amidst the disorganized cloud mass. At 06:00 UTC on August 5, Tropical Depression Five was declared while located a little more than a hundred miles off the northern coast of Honduras. Shortly after designation, the depression briefly stalled as the NHC struggled to identify a center. It resumed movement later that day on a southwest course. No strengthening occurred for the next day as the depression moved at a steady clip towards Belize. Some minor intensification finally occurred at 18:00 UTC on August 6, with winds increasing slightly from 35 to 40 mph (65 km/h). As a result, Tropical Storm Edouard was named by the NHC. Just five hours after being named, Edouard made landfall near the coastal village of Hopkins in southern Belize at 23:00 UTC. After briefly maintaining strength over the flat lands of the country, the weak tropical storm quickly began to unravel as it headed into the mountainous terrain of central America. Edouard rapidly weakened to a depression in the morning hours of August 7, and degenerated into a remnant low at 18:00 UTC that same day.
Hurricane Fay[]
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | August 13 – August 29 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min) 961 mbar (hPa) |
A robust tropical wave developed over central Africa around August 10. Quickly moving to the west, it emerged over the far eastern tropical Atlantic on August 11. A small pocket of favorable conditions was present south and west of the Cabo Verde islands, and the wave quickly began to organize. Satellite imagery showed a small but impressive cyclone, and at 18:00 UTC on August 13, Tropical Depression Six formed southwest of Cape Verde.