Hurricane Genevieve (2020)

Hurricane Genevieve reached Category 4 in the Eastern Pacific between August 16, 2020 and August 22, 2020, with a lowest pressure of 950 mb. It killed 6 people directly, by the National Hurricane Center’s count.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Genevieve, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2020 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin: Eastern Pacific
Dates: August 16, 2020 to August 22, 2020
Peak strength: Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure: 950 mb (28.05 inHg)
Landfall: No; closest approach 84 km (52 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy: 11.6
Tropical-storm-force wind reached: 130 nmi (241 km, 150 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached: 30 nmi (56 km, 35 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak: 15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size: 150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track: 135 kt (155 mph)
Fastest the center moved: 18 kt (21 mph)
Identifier: EP122020

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

National Hurricane Center

6 direct deathsnone recorded in the United States

The season table in NHC’s report archive, final report. Direct deaths are those caused by the storm’s own wind, water or surge, anywhere in the world.

NOAA Storm Events

0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)$2,500

What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 2 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.

In the United States

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths: 0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2,500
Crop damage: none recorded
Events recorded: 9 in 2 reports from 2 states and marine areas

State by state

State or marine area	Deaths	Injuries	Damage	Events
Arizona	0	0	$2,500	4
California	0	0		5

What was recorded

4 strong wind, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 hail, 1 flash flood.

Wind reports

The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.

Wind	How	Where	State	Time (UTC)
52 kt (60 mph)	Estimated	4.1 W of (TUS)TUCSON INTL ARP	Arizona	Aug 21, 01:50
52 kt (60 mph)	Estimated	.69 S of TUBAC	Arizona	Aug 20, 23:15
35 kt (40 mph)	Measured	East Bay Hills and The Diablo Range	California	Aug 24, 03:28
30 kt (35 mph)	Measured	East Bay Hills and The Diablo Range	California	Aug 24, 05:50

What forecast offices wrote

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs that fell onto power lines, causing a power outage for 6000 customers in Drexel Heights.
Pima, Arizona · Thunderstorm Wind · Aug 21, 01:50 UTC

Heavy rain of 1 to 2 inches caused the closure of several streets in SW Tucson between Drexel and Valencia Roads due to flash flooding.
Pima, Arizona · Flash Flood · Aug 21, 02:30 UTC

Lightning strikes were reported near the SCU Lightning Complex Fire near the San Luis Reservoir. Three new small fires were started, but all were controlled.
Alameda, California · Lightning · Aug 24, 05:10 UTC

Track

Time (UTC)	Position	Wind	Pressure	Status
Aug 16, 12:00	11.3N 96.5W	30 kt	1005 mb	Tropical depression
Aug 16, 18:00	11.8N 98.0W	35 kt	1004 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 17, 00:00	12.3N 99.5W	45 kt	1001 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 17, 06:00	12.9N 101.0W	55 kt	998 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 17, 12:00	13.9N 102.3W	65 kt	992 mb	Hurricane
Aug 17, 18:00	14.9N 103.8W	75 kt	984 mb	Hurricane
Aug 18, 00:00	16.0N 105.3W	85 kt	976 mb	Hurricane
Aug 18, 06:00	17.0N 106.6W	90 kt	970 mb	Hurricane
Aug 18, 12:00	17.7N 107.6W	115 kt	950 mb	Hurricane
Aug 18, 18:00	18.3N 108.3W	110 kt	953 mb	Hurricane
Aug 19, 00:00	19.1N 108.8W	105 kt	953 mb	Hurricane
Aug 19, 06:00	19.9N 109.2W	95 kt	959 mb	Hurricane
Aug 19, 12:00	20.6N 109.6W	90 kt	964 mb	Hurricane
Aug 19, 18:00	21.1N 109.9W	80 kt	972 mb	Hurricane
Aug 20, 00:00	21.7N 110.0W	75 kt	977 mb	Hurricane
Aug 20, 06:00	22.3N 110.5W	70 kt	979 mb	Hurricane
Aug 20, 12:00	22.9N 111.2W	65 kt	983 mb	Hurricane
Aug 20, 18:00	23.4N 112.0W	60 kt	985 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 21, 00:00	23.7N 112.9W	55 kt	992 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 21, 06:00	24.1N 113.8W	45 kt	999 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 21, 12:00	24.7N 114.5W	40 kt	1001 mb	Tropical storm
Aug 21, 18:00	25.4N 115.2W	35 kt	1003 mb	Low
Aug 22, 00:00	26.2N 116.2W	30 kt	1005 mb	Low
Aug 22, 06:00	27.0N 117.4W	25 kt	1007 mb	Low

Other Eastern Pacific storms of 2020

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.