Kyle (2020)

Tropical Storm Kyle formed from a small weather system that moved off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia and developed into a tropical cyclone on 14 August 2020 about 90 nautical miles east-northeast of Duck, North Carolina. It moved quickly east‑northeastward away from the U.S. coast over the Gulf Stream, reached its peak on 15 August about 200 n mi southeast of Cape Cod, and then weakened as it interacted with a stationary front. Kyle became extratropical by 0000 UTC 16 August and was absorbed by the front a few hundred miles south of Nova Scotia later that day.

Kyle did not make any landfalls on the U.S. coast or elsewhere. It remained offshore of the United States for its entire life and dissipated over the western North Atlantic after transitioning to an extratropical low.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were 45 knots (about 52 mph) with a best-track minimum central pressure near 1000 mb at peak intensity on 15 August. This intensity corresponds to a strong tropical storm (below hurricane strength).

Storm surge and heavy rainfall impacts were minimal. Offshore measurements included sustained tropical-storm-force winds from Buoy 41001 (adjusted 10‑m wind ~34 kt at 1200 UTC 14 August) and multiple ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds. No coastal storm surge heights or significant rainfall totals in towns or counties were reported in association with Kyle in the official record.

There were no reports of damage or casualties attributed to Kyle. The primary impacts were marine — gusty winds and rough seas reported by ships and offshore buoys.

Noteworthy aspects: the storm formed close to the U.S. coast and strengthened over the Gulf Stream despite moderate to strong wind shear. The National Hurricane Center noted the genesis was not well foreseen; the precursor system was first given only an 18‑hour lead time in the Tropical Weather Outlook, and forecasts were slow to predict the brief peak intensity and subsequent weakening.