Boris (2020)

A small tropical cyclone formed from a disturbance in the far eastern Pacific and became a tropical depression at 0600 UTC on 24 June 2020 about 1,485 nautical miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. It moved generally westward to west-northwestward under a subtropical ridge, briefly intensified to tropical storm strength on 25 June, then weakened back to a depression and became a remnant low by about 1800 UTC on 27 June. The remnant low tracked west-southwestward for a few days before dissipating well south-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands.

Boris did not make any landfalls. It remained well over open ocean throughout its life; no coastal watches or warnings were issued.

The storm’s peak intensity was 35 knots (40 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb, reached near 1800 UTC on 25 June 2020. That peak kept Boris as a minimal tropical storm for a short time before weakening.

There were no reports of storm surge or notable rainfall totals associated with Boris in populated areas. No ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds were received, and the cyclone’s impacts were confined to the ocean.

No damage or casualties were reported in connection with Boris. Regions near the storm’s track were not affected on land.

Noteworthy points: satellite scatterometer data were important in estimating the 35-kt peak intensity. The storm’s genesis was anticipated in long-range outlooks but was harder to predict shortly before formation; official track forecasts were generally better than many models beyond 24 hours, and official intensity forecasts performed well compared to climatology.