2020 Atlantic hurricane season (Jarrell)

The **2020 Atlantic hurricane season** was an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, producing 15 named storms, 9 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes. It is also considered to be the final year of the most recent era of high-activity tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30; these dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first system, Abbie, developed on June 12--two months prior to the first system of the previous year--while the final storm of the season, Olympia, transitioned to a extratropical cyclone in the western Atlantic on November 21, over a week before the official end.

Although there were several tropical cyclones to make landfall throughout the season, only a few left a significant impact. Hurricane Izzy made stalled over the Bahamas before making landfall near Port Canaveral, Florida as a Category 2 hurricane, with damage totaling $11.3 billion. A little over two weeks later, Hurricane Kaitlyn tracked through the Virgin Islands, leaving extensive damage throughout the region. Damage amounted to $7 billion, with 16 deaths also attributed to the storm. The impact between these two systems accounted for most of the costs for this season.

Unlike the previous year, an active season was expected from the presence of neutral to warm conditions from the anticipated development of a La Nina. Overall, the forecasts were accurate.

## **Seasonal forecasts**

Forecasts of hurricane activity are issued before each hurricane season by noted hurricane experts Philip J. Klotzbach, William M. Gray, and their associates at Colorado State University; and separately by NOAA forecasters.

Klotzbach's team (formerly led by Gray) defined the average number of storms per season (1981 to 2010) as 12.1 tropical storms, 6.4 hurricanes, 2.7 major hurricanes (storms reaching at least Category 3 strength in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) and ACE Index 96.1. NOAA defines a season as above-normal, near-normal or below-normal by a combination of the number of named storms, the number reaching hurricane strength, the number reaching major hurricane strength and ACE Index.

### **Pre-season forecasts**

On December 12, 2019, Tropical Storm Risk (TSR), a public consortium consisting of experts on insurance, risk management, and seasonal climate forecasting at University College London, issued an extended-range forecast predicting an above-average hurricane season. In its report, the organization called for 14 named storms, 6 hurricanes, 3 major hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index of 106 units. This forecast was based on slightly quicker than average trade winds across the tropical Atlantic and slightly above average sea surface temperatures in the Main Development Region of the Atlantic. On April 2, 2020, forecasters at Colorado State University echoed predictions of an above-average season, forecasting 16 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 major hurricanes, and an ACE index of 150 units. The organization posted significantly heightened probabilities for hurricanes tracking through the Caribbean and hurricanes striking the U.S. coastline. TSR updated their forecast on April 7, predicting 16 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 3 major hurricanes, and an ACE index of 130 units. On April 13, the University of Arizona (UA) predicted a potentially hyperactive hurricane season: 19 named storms, 10 hurricanes, 5 major hurricanes, and accumulated cyclone energy index of 163 units. A similar prediction of 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes was released by The Weather Company on April 15. Following that, the North Carolina State University released a similar forecast on April 17, also calling for a possibly hyperactive season with 18–22 named storms, 8–11 hurricanes and 3–5 major hurricanes. On May 3, the JMC released its first forecast of the season, calling for 14 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes.

## **Seasonal Summary**

*See also: Timeline of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season*

## **Systems**

### **Hurricane Abbie**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Storm Ben**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Storm Caroline**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Storm Dane**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Ember**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Storm Finley**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Georgia**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Harris**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Depression Nine**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Izzy**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Storm Jack**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Kaitlyn**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Leo**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Madeleine**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Hurricane Neil**

 Duration
 Intensity

### **Tropical Storm Olympia**

 Duration
 Intensity

## **Storm names**

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2020. This is the first time these names were used since the post-2016 naming change, except for Abbie and Caroline, which were previously used in 1968 and 1975, respectively. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2026 season.

* Ben
* Caroline
* Dane
* Ember
* Finley
* Georgia
* Izzy
* Jack
* Kaitlyn
* Leo
* Madeleine
* Neil
* Perry *(unused)*
* Ruby *(unused)*
* Saxon *(unused)*
* Tiffany *(unused)*
* Vincent *(unused)*
* Wonder *(unused)*

### **Retirement**

On April 8, 2021, at the 43rd session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the names *Izzy* and *Kaitlyn* from its rotating naming lists due to the number of deaths and amount of damage they caused, and they will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They will be replaced with *Ivanna* and *Kelsey* for the 2026 season, respectively.

## **Season effects**

This is a table of all of the storms that formed in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s)–denoted by bold location names – damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2020 USD.