The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the busiest Atlantic hurricane season ever! It broke the record set in 2005. During this season, there were 31 tropical or subtropical storms. Out of these, 30 were named storms, 13 became hurricanes, and 6 grew into major hurricanes. More than 20 tropical storms formed earlier than ever before. This season happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made it harder to move people to safety and provide help.
Quick facts for kids
2020 Atlantic hurricane season
 |
| Season summary map |
| First storm formed |
May 16, 2020 |
| Last storm dissipated |
November 18, 2020 |
| Strongest storm |
Iota – 917 mbar (hPa) (27.09 inHg), 160 mph (260 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| Total depressions |
31 (record high, tied with 2005) |
| Total storms |
30 (record high) |
| Hurricanes |
13 |
| Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) |
6 |
| Total fatalities |
≥ 409 total |
| Total damage |
> $46.909 billion (2020 USD) |
Atlantic hurricane seasons
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 |
Season summary
Storms
Tropical Storm Arthur
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
May 16 – May 19 |
| Intensity |
60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min), 991 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Arthur was an early storm. It formed on May 16 near Cuba. It caused some damage in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It also affected The Bahamas and Bermuda. This storm lasted only three days.
Tropical Storm Bertha
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
May 27 – May 28 |
| Intensity |
50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min), 1004 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Bertha was another early storm. It lasted only one day. It caused some damage in The Bahamas and the Southern United States. This storm also caused the Crew Dragon Demo-2 space flight to be delayed.
Tropical Storm Cristobal
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
June 1 – June 10 |
| Intensity |
60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min), 992 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Cristobal was the earliest third named storm ever recorded. It formed from the leftover clouds of Tropical Storm Amanda. The storm started in the Bay of Campeche. It caused a lot of damage in Mexico. Then it moved slowly before hitting Louisiana. The storm then traveled north to Wisconsin, becoming weaker, before it disappeared.
Tropical Storm Dolly
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
June 22 – June 24 |
| Intensity |
45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min), 1002 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Dolly was a short storm. It formed on June 22 as a subtropical system. It became a tropical storm on June 23 and disappeared on June 24.
Tropical Storm Edouard
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 4 – July 6 |
| Intensity |
45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min), 1007 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Edouard formed in July, which is an unusual time of year. It formed on July 4. It reached tropical storm status on July 6. After that, it became the earliest fifth named storm.
Tropical Storm Fay
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 9 – July 11 |
| Intensity |
60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min), 998 mbar (hPa) |
Fay was the earliest sixth named storm. Tropical Storm Fay formed off the coast of the Carolinas. It then hit New Jersey as a tropical storm, getting weaker as it moved inland.
Tropical Storm Gonzalo
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 21 – July 25 |
| Intensity |
65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min), 997 mbar (hPa) |
Gonzalo was the earliest seventh named storm. It almost made landfall in Guyana.
Hurricane Hanna
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 23 – July 27 |
| Intensity |
90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min), 973 mbar (hPa) |
On July 23, Hanna formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It came from a tropical wave. On July 24, it became a tropical storm. This made it the earliest eighth named storm. The storm quickly grew stronger. It became a hurricane on July 25. Then it hit Texas later that day. The damage was bad, as a pandemic was growing at that time, making it harder to help people.
Hurricane Isaias
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 30 – August 5 |
| Intensity |
85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min), 987 mbar (hPa) |
Isaias was a strong storm. It hit The Bahamas, then moved up the east coast of the United States. It made landfall in North Carolina. Before it was named, Isaias was spread out and messy. But when it was named on July 30, it became the earliest ninth named storm ever. It then moved to the Dominican Republic, and then back to the Bahamas. After that, it traveled off the coast of the United States and hit North Carolina. Isaias caused over $4.2 billion in damage.
Tropical Depression Ten
| Tropical depression (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 31 – August 2 |
| Intensity |
35 mph (55 km/h) (1-min), 1007 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Depression Ten formed on July 31. But it could not get stronger because of bad weather conditions. The storm moved slowly. It disappeared on August 2. The National Hurricane Center found some tropical storm winds in its center. But they said the storm was too spread out.
Tropical Storm Josephine
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 11 – August 16 |
| Intensity |
45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min), 1004 mbar (hPa) |
Josephine was the earliest tenth named storm.
Tropical Storm Kyle
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 14 – August 16 |
| Intensity |
50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min), 1000 mbar (hPa) |
Kyle was the earliest eleventh named storm. It broke the record set by Hurricane Katrina.
Hurricane Laura
Main article: Hurricane Laura
| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 20 – August 29 |
| Intensity |
150 mph (240 km/h) (1-min), 937 mbar (hPa) |
On August 20, a tropical wave became a tropical depression. The next day, this depression became Tropical Storm Laura. It was the earliest twelfth tropical storm in the Atlantic. The storm then passed over the Leeward Islands. It went south of Puerto Rico. The storm made landfall on the Dominican Republic. But it did not lose strength, even over the mountains. It then hit Cuba twice. Laura became a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico on August 24. The storm quickly grew much stronger. It became a Category 2 hurricane on August 25. Laura became a major hurricane (Category 3) nine hours later. It became a Category 4 storm six hours after that. Its strongest winds were 150 mph. The storm hit Louisiana around that time. After moving over Louisiana, it quickly weakened. It disappeared over Kentucky.
In Louisiana, buildings were badly damaged by the storm. The strongest winds were 95 miles per hour in Lake Charles. A gust of 137 miles per hour was also reported there. Damage was worst in Lake Charles. Almost every house had a tarp on it to keep out rain. This was because their roofs were destroyed. Luckily, a big push of water was expected to be over 15 feet high. But at the last minute, it moved west. This pushed the water into areas with fewer people.
Hurricane Marco
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 20 – August 25 |
| Intensity |
75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min), 991 mbar (hPa) |
Marco was the earliest thirteenth named storm.
Tropical Storm Omar
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 31 – September 5 |
| Intensity |
40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min), 1003 mbar (hPa) |
Omar was the earliest fifteenth named storm. It had a very unusual path.
Hurricane Nana
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 1 – September 4 |
| Intensity |
75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min), 994 mbar (hPa) |
Nana was the earliest fourteenth named storm. It formed after Omar. But it became a tropical storm before Omar did.
Hurricane Paulette
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 7 – September 23 |
| Intensity |
105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min), 965 mbar (hPa) |
Paulette was the earliest sixteenth named storm. It made a very rare landfall in Bermuda. Then it disappeared. After it disappeared, it became a tropical storm again. Because of this, people called it a "zombie storm." This is because it came back after fading away.
Tropical Storm Rene
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 7 – September 14 |
| Intensity |
50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min), 1000 mbar (hPa) |
Rene was the earliest seventeenth named storm.
Hurricane Sally
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 11 – September 17 |
| Intensity |
105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min), 965 mbar (hPa) |
Sally was the earliest eighteenth named storm.
Hurricane Teddy
| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 12 – September 24 |
| Intensity |
140 mph (220 km/h) (1-min), 945 mbar (hPa) |
Teddy was the earliest nineteenth named storm. This storm formed and became a Category 4 hurricane. Then it weakened and hit Newfoundland with winds of 65 mph.
Tropical Storm Vicky
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 14 – September 17 |
| Intensity |
50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min), 1002 mbar (hPa) |
Vicky was the earliest twentieth named storm.
Tropical Storm Beta
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 17 – September 23 |
| Intensity |
60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min), 994 mbar (hPa) |
Beta was the earliest twenty-third named storm.
Tropical Storm Wilfred
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 18 – September 21 |
| Intensity |
40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min), 1007 mbar (hPa) |
Wilfred was the earliest twenty-first named storm.
Subtropical Storm Alpha
| Subtropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 18 – September 19 |
| Intensity |
50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min), 996 mbar (hPa) |
Alpha was the earliest twenty-second named storm. It made a very rare landfall in mainland Europe. This made 2020 only the second season to use the Greek Alphabet for storm names.
Tropical Storm Gamma
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 2 – October 6 |
| Intensity |
70 mph (110 km/h) (1-min), 980 mbar (hPa) |
Gamma was the earliest twenty-fourth named storm.
Hurricane Delta
| Category 4 tropical cyclone (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 5 – October 11 |
| Intensity |
230 km/h (145 mph) (1-min), 953 hPa (mbar) |
Delta was the earliest twenty-fifth named storm. It made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane. This caused a lot of damage.
Hurricane Epsilon
| Category 3 tropical cyclone (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 19 – October 26 |
| Intensity |
185 km/h (115 mph) (1-min), 951 hPa (mbar) |
Epsilon was the earliest twenty-sixth named storm. It was the fourth major hurricane of the season.
Hurricane Zeta
| Category 2 tropical cyclone (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 24 – 29 |
| Intensity |
175 km/h (110 mph) (1-min), 970 hPa (mbar) |
Zeta was the earliest twenty-seventh named storm. It caused damage in the Southeast United States. It even brought snow to New England.
Hurricane Eta
Main article: Hurricane Eta
| Category 4 tropical cyclone (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 31 – November 13 |
| Intensity |
240 km/h (150 mph) (1-min), 923 hPa (mbar) |
Eta was the earliest twenty-eighth named storm. It became a very powerful Category 4 hurricane. It hit Central America, Cuba, and Florida.
Tropical Storm Theta
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 10 – November 15 |
| Intensity |
110 km/h (70 mph) (1-min), 989 hPa (mbar) |
On November 10, Subtropical Storm Theta formed. This made the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season the busiest ever. The next day, the storm became a tropical storm. It reached its strongest winds of 70 mph (110 km/h). The storm then weakened. But it got stronger again, reaching 65 mph (105 km/h). Then it weakened again and finally disappeared on July 15.
Hurricane Iota
| Category 5 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
November 13 – November 18 |
| Intensity |
160 mph (260 km/h) (1-min), 917 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Iota was a very strong and damaging storm. It hit Central America on November 17. It formed in the Caribbean Sea. The storm quickly grew much stronger. It became the second Category 5 hurricane to form in November. It reached Category 5 strength on November 16.
Related pages
Images for kids
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United States tropical watches and warnings issued during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. Watches and warnings were issued in almost every coastal county in Florida.
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Five tropical storms and hurricanes active in the Atlantic on September 14: Sally (left), Paulette (center left), Rene (center right), Teddy (bottom right), and Vicky (far right).
See also
In Spanish: Temporada de huracanes en el Atlántico de 2020 para niños
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