2019–20 South Pacific cyclone season

The 2019–20 South Pacific cyclone season was a slightly above-average season in which tropical cyclones formed within the South Pacific Ocean to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran from November 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, however a tropical cyclone could form at any time between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, and would count towards the season total. The season began on November 22 with the formation of Tropical Cyclone Rita, which would later become a severe tropical cyclone. The season has been near-average in terms of activity, with 8 tropical cyclones and 4 severe tropical cyclones forming during the season. The season featured Cyclone Harold, the first Category 5 severe tropical cyclone in the basin since Cyclone Gita, and one of the strongest since Cyclone Winston. During the season, tropical cyclones are officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and New Zealand's MetService. The United States Armed Forces through the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also monitors the basin and issue unofficial warnings for American interests. The FMS attaches a number and an F suffix to tropical disturbances that form in or move into the basin while the JTWC designates significant tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix. The FMS, BoM and MetService all use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale and estimate wind speeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC estimated sustained winds over a 1-minute period, which are subsequently compared to the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS).