The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of number of named storms. Additionally, it was an above-average season for tropical cyclones for the fifth consecutive year. The season officially began on June 1, 2020, and ended on November 30, 2020. These dates, adopted by convention, historically delimit the period each year when most Atlantic tropical systems form. However, storm formation is possible at any time of the year, as was the case this season, when its first two named storms, Tropical Storm Arthur and Tropical Storm Bertha, formed on May 16 and May 27, respectively. The final storm, Hurricane Iota, dissipated on November 18.
Altogether, the season produced 31 tropical or subtropical cyclones, all but one of which became a named storm. Of the 30 named storms, 14 became hurricanes, and seven further intensified into major hurricanes. It was the second and final season to use the Greek letter storm naming system, the first being 2005.
This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. It includes information that was not released throughout the season, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as a storm that was not initially warned upon, has been included.
The time stamp for each event is first stated using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the 24-hour clock where 00:00 = midnight UTC. The NHC uses both UTC and the time zone where the center of the tropical cyclone is currently located. The time zones utilized (east to west) are: Greenwich, Cape Verde, Atlantic, Eastern, and Central. In this timeline, the respective area time is included in parentheses. Additionally, figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (miles, or kilometers), following National Hurricane Center practice. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury. __TOC__
Timeline
May
May 16 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Depression One forms from a broad area of low pressure about east of Melbourne, Florida.
May 17 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT May 16) at Tropical Depression One intensifies into Tropical Storm Arthur approximately east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
May 19
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Arthur reaches its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of , about east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Arthur transitions into an extratropical cyclone roughly east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, and subsequently dissipates.
May 27 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Bertha forms from a weak and elongated low about southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Bertha reaches its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a central pressure of , while located about east-southeast of Charleston. 13:30 UTC (9:30 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall near Isle of Palms, South Carolina, with winds of . 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Bertha weakens to a tropical depression approximately north-northwest of Charleston.
May 28 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Depression Bertha transitions to an extratropical cyclone about southwest of Roanoke, Virginia, and later dissipates.
June
June 1 The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins. 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Three forms from the remnants of Tropical Storm Amanda about southwest of Campeche, Campeche.
June 2 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Three intensifies into Tropical Storm Cristobal while centered about northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche.
June 3
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m CDT) at Tropical Storm Cristobal attains maximum sustained winds of , while located about northwest of Ciudad del Carmen. 13:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Cristobal makes its first landfall near Atasta, Campeche, about west of Ciudad del Carmen, with sustained winds of and a central barometric pressure of .
June 4 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Cristobal weakens to a tropical depression about southeast of Ciudad del Carmen, near the Guatemala–Mexico border.
June 5 06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Cristobal re-strengthens to a tropical storm about south-southeast of Campeche.
June 6 00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT June 5) at Tropical Storm Cristobal attains maximum sustained winds of , while centered about north-northwest of Progreso, Yucatán.
June 7 22:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Cristobal makes its second landfall about east of Grand Isle, Louisiana, with winds of and a central pressure of .
June 8 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Cristobal weakens to a tropical depression about west-northwest of Natchez, Mississippi.
June 9 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Cristobal reaches its minimum pressure of , while located about north-northwest of St. Louis, Missouri.
June 10 00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, June 9) at Tropical Depression Cristobal becomes an extratropical low while centered about north-northwest of Dubuque, Iowa, and subsequently dissipates.
June 22 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Subtropical Depression Four forms from a broad non-tropical surface low-pressure area about east-southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
June 23 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Subtropical Depression Four intensifies into Subtropical Storm Dolly about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Subtropical Storm Dolly transitions into a tropical storm and simultaneously reaches its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds and minimum barometric pressure of , while located about south-southeast of Halifax.
June 24 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Dolly degenerates into a remnant low about southeast of Halifax, and subsequently opens up into a surface trough.
July
July 4 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Five forms from a non-tropical low-pressure area while centered about west-southwest of Bermuda.
July 6 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, July 5) at Tropical Depression Five strengthens into Tropical Storm Edouard, about northeast of Bermuda. 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Edouard reaches its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of , about southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.
July 7 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, July 6) at Tropical Storm Edouard becomes extratropical about east-southeast of Cape Race Newfoundland, and subsequently dissipates.
July 9 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Fay develops from a complex of thunderstorms associated with a low-pressure area about east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. July 10
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Fay reaches its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of , about east-southeast of Cape May, New Jersey. 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Fay makes landfall about north-northeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, with maximum sustained winds of .
July 11 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Fay weakens to a remnant low inland, about north of New York, New York, and is later absorbed into a larger mid-latitude low.
July 21 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Seven forms from a broad low pressure system moving slowly westward within the Intertropical Convergence Zone, about east of the southern Windward Islands.
July 22 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Seven intensifies into Tropical Storm Gonzalo, about east of the southern Windward Islands.
July 23 00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, July 22) at Tropical Depression Eight forms from a tropical wave over the central Gulf of Mexico, about south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Gonzalo reaches its peak intensity of maximum sustained winds and minimum barometric pressure of 997 mbar (hPa; 29.44 inHg), while located about east of the southern Windward Islands.
July 24 00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, July 23) at Tropical Depression Eight strengthens into Tropical Storm Hanna about south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
July 25
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Hanna intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane about east-northeast of Port Mansfield, Texas. 15:30 UTC (11:30 a.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Gonzalo weakens to a tropical depression just before making landfall along the eastern coast of Trinidad, near Manzanilla Beach, and later degenerates into an open trough. 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Hurricane Hanna attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and minimum barometric pressure of , just off the coast of South Texas. 22:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. CDT) at Hurricane Hanna makes landfall on Padre Island, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of . 23:15 UTC (6:15 p.m. CDT) at Hurricane Hanna makes a second landfall about north-northwest of Port Mansfield, with maximum sustained winds of .
July 26 06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) at Hurricane Hanna weakens to a tropical storm about west-southwest of Port Mansfield, Texas. 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Hanna weakens to a tropical depression about north of Monterrey, Nuevo León, and dissipates shortly thereafter.
July 30 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, July 29) at Tropical Storm Isaias forms from a tropical wave about south of Ponce, Puerto Rico. 16:15 UTC (12:15 p.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Isaias makes landfall near San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic with sustained winds of .
July 31 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, July 30) at Tropical Storm Isaias strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane after emerging offshore of the northern coast of Hispaniola, about north-northwest of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. 09:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. EDT) at Hurricane Isaias makes landfall on Great Inagua Island, Bahamas, with sustained winds of . 18:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. CVT) at Tropical Depression Ten forms from a tropical wave about east of the easternmost Cabo Verde Islands.
August
August 1
13:00 UTC (9:00 a.m. EDT) at Hurricane Isaias makes landfall on Andros Island, Bahamas, with sustained winds of . 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Hurricane Isaias weakens to a tropical storm about south of Freeport, Bahamas.
August 2 00:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. CVT, August 1) at Tropical Depression Ten degenerates to a remnant low while located about north of the Cabo Verde Islands, and later dissipates.
August 3 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Isaias regains hurricane strength about south of Charleston, South Carolina.
August 4 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, August 3) at Hurricane Isaias reaches its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of , while located about east of Charleston, South Carolina. 03:10 UTC (11:10 p.m. EDT, August 3) at Hurricane Isaias makes its fourth and final landfall near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of . 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) at Hurricane Isaias weakens inland to a tropical storm about southwest of Greenville, North Carolina.
August 5 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, August 4) at Tropical Storm Isaias transitions to an extratropical low while located about north-northwest of Rutland, Vermont, and later dissipates.
August 11 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Eleven forms from a tropical wave about west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands.
August 13 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Eleven becomes Tropical Storm Josephine roughly east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands.
August 14