Fewer but more intense hurricanes in 2025

 

2025 Atlantic hurricane season storm tracks (Source: NOAA)

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season officially comes to a close on November 30. It will finish with a total of 13 tropical storms, of which 5 became hurricanes with 4 of them major hurricanes. It’s the Atlantic’s lowest total since only 11 named storms developed in 2015. This was also the first season since 2015 that no hurricanes made landfall in the United States.

A “major” hurricane is considered a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with sustained winds of at least 111 mph. While this season had the fewest named storms in a decade, what stands out was the number of major hurricanes. Four of the five hurricanes that developed were major hurricanes. That’s significant since the 2025 total of three Category 5 hurricanes will finish as the second highest Atlantic total behind only the four that occurred in 2005.

When Erin was upgraded to hurricane status in August, it became the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025. It didn’t stop there and became the first Category 5 storm of the season with peak sustained winds of 160 mph and minimum central air pressure of 915 millibars (mb). Fortunately, Erin didn’t have a direct impact on the United States. However, it was a long-lasting storm that caused dangerous rip currents and coastal erosion up and down the east coast of the United States.

Hurricane Humberto was the second Atlantic Category 5 hurricane of 2025. It reached its peak intensity on September 27 with sustained winds of 160 mph and a minimum air pressure of 924 mb. Similar to Erin, Humberto tracked far enough east of the United States to have no direct impacts.

Next, Hurricane Melissa developed in late-October 2025. Once it reached hurricane status on October 25, Melissa underwent a period of rapid intensification. It ultimately finished tied as the third strongest Atlantic hurricane on record based on its lowest minimum air pressure of 892 mb. Melissa’s peak sustained winds of 185 mph are tied for second highest in an Atlantic hurricane. Unfortunately, it became the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in Jamaica. It will take some time to calculate Hurricane Melissa’s toll, both in terms of lives lost and monetary damages.

Melissa’s peak sustained winds of 185 mph are tied for second highest in an Atlantic hurricane. Also, Hurricane Melissa broke a world record for highest observed wind gust. During one of NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter flights into Melissa, a wind gust of 252 mph was found and that broke the previous world record of 248 mph from 2010’s Typhoon Megi. 

Gabrielle was the fourth major Atlantic hurricane of 2025. It reached peak intensity on September 22 as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum air pressure of 948 mb. Fortunately, it reached this intensity while east of Bermuda and moving further away.

In conclusion, this season didn’t have a large overall number of named storms, but rather a higher percentage of stronger storms compared to past seasons.