TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season stood out from the others, featuring a quiet peak, powerful systems, and the U.S. avoiding any landfalls.
With under a week left of hurricane season, let's look back on what the past few months have shown.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) came out with their original outlook in May and an updated version in August, both of which favored an above-average season. The most recent outlook predicted 13-18 named storms (systems with winds of 39 mph or greater), 5-9 hurricanes (systems with winds of 74 mph or greater), and 2-5 major hurricanes (systems with winds of 111 mph or greater).
The outcome fell right in line with their predictions, with 13 named storms, five hurricanes, and four major hurricanes.
What was not expected was that not a single hurricane made landfall in the U.S., which hasn't happened since 2015. The only system that came onshore was Chantal, which made landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm.
However, the hurricanes that did form packed a punch. This season featured three Category 5 storms, which, according to NOAA, is the "second-most on record in a single season."
The first hurricane to form was Hurricane Erin in early August, followed by Hurricane Gabrielle and Hurricane Humberto in September. Erin and Humberto reached Category 5 strength, while Gabrielle maxed out at Category 4 strength. All three stayed well out in the open waters.
The most notable storm of the season was Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in western Jamaica, bringing catastrophic winds and rainfall. According to NOAA, Melissa became one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall in the Atlantic basin with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and maximum sustained pressure of 892 at landfall. That was not the only impressive feature, NOAA says Melissa made a "115 mph wind increase and a 90 millibar decrease in central pressure in a 72-hour period."
Although there were impressive strengths in the storms we did see, we also went through periods of complete silence in times where the season is usually ramping up. For example, on the peak of hurricane season (September 10), the Atlantic basin was completely quiet. Though it didn't last long in this instance, as the wave of Gabrielle entered the Atlantic on September 11, we did have periods of silence, and although we still have a few days left of the season, we have gone a few weeks with no development expected.
The official end date of the Atlantic hurricane season is November 30.
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