hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

2020 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 31 storms · 16 May 2020–18 Nov 2020

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY180.4
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2020 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 31 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalArthur: 16 May–19 May, peak 53 kt, Tropical stormBertha: 27 May–28 May, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormCristobal: 1 Jun–9 Jun, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormDolly: 23 Jun–24 Jun, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormEdouard: 4 Jul–6 Jul, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormFay: 9 Jul–11 Jul, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormGonzalo: 21 Jul–25 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormHanna: 23 Jul–26 Jul, peak 80 kt, Category 1Isaias: 30 Jul–4 Aug, peak 80 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 31 Jul–1 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionJosephine: 11 Aug–16 Aug, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormKyle: 14 Aug–15 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormLaura: 20 Aug–29 Aug, peak 130 kt, Category 4Marco: 21 Aug–25 Aug, peak 65 kt, Category 1Omar: 31 Aug–5 Sep, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormNana: 1 Sep–3 Sep, peak 65 kt, Category 1Rene: 7 Sep–14 Sep, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormPaulette: 7 Sep–22 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Sally: 11 Sep–17 Sep, peak 95 kt, Category 2Teddy: 12 Sep–23 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Vicky: 14 Sep–17 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormAlpha: 14 Sep–19 Sep, no US-agency windWilfred: 17 Sep–21 Sep, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormBeta: 17 Sep–22 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormGamma: 2 Oct–6 Oct, peak 65 kt, Category 1Delta: 4 Oct–10 Oct, peak 120 kt, Category 4Epsilon: 19 Oct–26 Oct, peak 100 kt, Category 3Zeta: 24 Oct–29 Oct, peak 100 kt, Category 3Eta: 31 Oct–13 Nov, peak 130 kt, Category 4Theta: 10 Nov–15 Nov, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormIota: 13 Nov–18 Nov, peak 135 kt, Category 4

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Arthur–53Tropical storm9901,150
Bertha–45Tropical storm1005530
Cristobal–50Tropical storm9872,680
Dolly–40Tropical storm1000670
Edouard–40Tropical storm10053,370
Fay–50Tropical storm9981,540
Gonzalo–55Tropical storm9971,530
Hanna–80Cat 1973680
Isaias–80Cat 19863,030
Unnamed–30Tropical depression1008600
Josephine–40Tropical storm10041,880
Kyle–45Tropical storm1000630
Laura–130Cat 49373,620
Marco–65Cat 19911,250
Omar–35Tropical storm10031,620
Nana–65Cat 1994950
Paulette–90Cat 29656,170
Rene–40Tropical storm10011,980
Sally–95Cat 29651,090
Teddy–120Cat 49453,830
Vicky–45Tropical storm10011,160
Alpha–—Unclassified—1,230
Beta–55Tropical storm9931,320
Wilfred–35Tropical storm10061,320
Gamma–65Cat 1978680
Delta–120Cat 49531,920
Epsilon–100Cat 39523,060
Zeta–100Cat 39702,130
Eta–130Cat 49223,430
Theta–60Tropical storm9871,720
Iota–135Cat 49171,130

31 storms with an IBTrACS 2020 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 16 May 2020, last 18 Nov 2020.

Tropical storms30

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes14

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)7

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormIota

135 kt · 155 mph / 250 km/h

Lowest pressure917 hPa

Iota, 16 Nov 2020

Longest track record21.5 days

Paulette, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind1

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 2020 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 14 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 30 tropical storms, with 7 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season?

Iota, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 135 kt (Category 4) on 16 Nov 2020, 12:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 917 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 2020?

None. No storm in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 16 May 2020 and the last on 18 Nov 2020, from 31 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season?

Hanna, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 25 Jul 2020, 09:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 2020 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology