COURTESY: NOAA

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30, was notable for its striking contrast — wavering between periods of relative calm and bursts of intense activity, generating very powerful storms. Overall, the season fell within the predicted ranges for named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes issued in NOAA’s seasonal outlooks.

"For the first time in a decade, not a single hurricane struck the U.S. this season, and that was a much needed break,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "Still, a tropical storm caused damage and casualties in the Carolinas, distant hurricanes created rough ocean waters that caused property damage along the East Coast, and neighboring countries experienced direct hits from hurricanes."

“The 2025 season was the first year NOAA’s National Hurricane Center incorporated Artificial Intelligence model guidance into their forecasts,” added Jacobs. “The NHC performed exceedingly well when it came to forecasting rapid intensification for some of the more impactful storms and provided critical decision support for our Caribbean partners.”

The Atlantic basin produced 13 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which five became hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater), including four major hurricanes with winds reaching 111 mph or greater. An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.

“Throughout the hurricane season, and all year long, the National Weather Service works around the clock to meet our mission of saving lives, protecting property and enhancing the national economy,” said Ken Graham, director, NOAA's National Weather Service. “I'm grateful to this talented team for their steadfast dedication to the safety of the American public.”

While the climatological peak of the hurricane season was quiet with no tropical activity, the season generated three Category 5 hurricanes, the second-most on record in a single season. “Fortunately, short-term weather patterns largely steered tropical systems away from the United States,” Graham added.

Tropical cyclone names are selected each year by the World Meteorological Organization (online at https://wmo.int/)

Atlantic Basin: Key Storms and Statistics

Tropical Storm Andrea formed on June 23, kicking off the season. Tropical storms Barry and Chantal then developed in rapid succession, before activity took a pause. The remnants of Barry added to the catastrophic flooding events in southern Texas on the Fourth of July.

Chantal was the only storm to make landfall in the U.S., bringing excessive rainfall and flooding to North Carolina.

Hurricane Erin was the first Category 5 storm of the season and brought storm surge and tropical storm conditions to the North Carolina Outer Banks and rough surf and rip currents along the East Coast. Erin underwent rapid intensification, and is tied for the fifth-fastest 24-hour increase in maximum sustained winds on record, from 75 mph to 160 mph. Erin also tied for the third-fastest 24-hour pressure drop in the Atlantic basin on record, dropping 83 millibars from 998 mb to 915 mb. 

Hurricane Humberto became the second Category 5 hurricane, and soon after,  Hurricane Imelda developed and became the final storm of September. Humberto was helpful in pulling Imelda out into the Atlantic and away from the U.S. coast. Still, despite the fact that they were thousands of miles away, they still brought coastal erosion to the Outer Banks for North Carolina.

Hurricane Melissa developed into the third Category 5 hurricane of the season, and became one of the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane landfalls on record when it made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on October 28, bringing extensive damage to Jamaica, Hispaniola, and eastern Cuba. Melissa was the fourth storm to undergo rapid intensification this year, with a 115-mph wind increase and a 90 millibar decrease in central pressure in a 72-hour period ending at 11 a.m. EDT on October 28. 

Four days before Melissa’s landfall in Jamaica, the NHC projected a path over western Jamaica, a forecast that ended up with a track difference of only about 13 miles. “NHC’s intensity forecasts for Melissa outperformed every model at nearly every lead time and provided almost three days of advance notice that Melissa would make landfall in Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 hurricane,” said Michael Brennan, Ph.D., director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. “This lead time was remarkable because it was the first time NHC forecasted a hurricane to reach Category 5 intensity from such a low initial intensity when the forecast was first issued.”

Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season

Hurricane season activity was near-normal for both the Eastern Pacific basin and Central Pacific basin and fell within predicted ranges, respectively. 

The Eastern Pacific basin hurricane season produced 18 named storms, with nine becoming hurricanes and three intensifying to major hurricane status. Two named storms formed in the Central Pacific basin, with one, Iona, becoming a major hurricane well south of Hawaii. Eastern Pacific storms Henriette and Kiko were also hurricanes in the Central Pacific that passed northeast of Hawaii with little impact to the state.

Season Scorecard: NOAA’s Research and Response

This season, NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft flew 417 mission hours to collect atmospheric data that is critical to hurricane forecasting and research, passing through the eye of a hurricane 53 times and deploying more than 1,300 scientific instruments. 

NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory hurricane researchers participated in 52 Hurricane Hunter missions, processing Tail Doppler Radar scans and more than 1,100 dropsonde profiles that were used to inform real-time decisions and improve forecasts. For the first time, an uncrewed surface vehicle captured and transmitted data from inside a Category 5 hurricane (Humberto) — a groundbreaking step in the mission to improve weather forecasting capabilities using new technologies.

NOAA's National Ocean Service captured thousands of aerial images in the wake of hurricanes Erin and Melissa. After Hurricane Melissa swept across Jamaica, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey supported the U.S. Department of State with its humanitarian response and recovery efforts, using NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations aircraft and crews. NOAA aircraft captured high-resolution imagery across approximately 1,573 square miles (4,075 square kilometers), logging over 55 flight hours and collecting nearly 15,000 image frames.

Storm-by-Storm Analysis 

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center will produce a Tropical Cyclone Report to comprehensively document each named storm from the 2025 season. The reports will be published as they are completed through early next year and will be available on the Tropical Cyclone Report site.