After three Category 5 storms, a historic hurricane season ends
The season produced one of the most intense landfalling hurricanes ever observed
A historic and downright odd Atlantic hurricane season ended on Sunday the same way it began—deceptively quiet.
This was an all-or-nothing season that saw uncharacteristic lulls interrupted by some of the most intense hurricanes ever observed in the Atlantic basin.
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2025 hurricane season by the numbers
An average season generates 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. This year produced 13 named storms, 5 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes, both defying early predictions and surprising experts with the ferocity of those hurricanes that did form.
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We saw three Category 5 hurricanes this year, the fourth consecutive year we’ve seen a scale-topping storm in the Atlantic. Melissa marked the thirteenth Category 5 storm observed in the past decade, a record since observations began in 1851.
Those three hurricanes—Erin, Humberto, and Melissa—accounted for more than 70 per cent of this season’s total Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), a measure of the strength and longevity of tropical storms and hurricanes.
Even one of the ‘forgettable’ storms landed in the history books. Subtropical Storm Karen formed at 44.5°N, making it one of the farthest-north named storms ever observed in the Atlantic basin.
Unusual lulls interrupted by Category 5 hurricanes
The season got off to the latest start in over a decade when Tropical Storm Andrea formed near the end of June.
We saw plenty of long and unusual stretches of quiet conditions throughout hurricane season, lulls that were occasionally interrupted by some of nature’s most powerful storms.
Hurricane Erin quickly proved what this season was capable of producing. The classic storm formed near the Cabo Verde Islands and trekked across the entire basin, reaching Category 5 intensity with maximum winds of 255 km/h as it passed north of St. Martin on Aug. 16.
Gabrielle rapidly intensified into a strong Category 4 hurricane as it passed through the central Atlantic Ocean in mid- to late-September.
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Humberto quickly followed on Gabrielle’s heels. The storm also took advantage of favourable conditions and very warm water temperatures to rapidly intensify into the season’s second Category 5 hurricane not far from where Erin achieved the same strength earlier in the summer.
Nine homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the ocean as a result of rough surf kicked up by Hurricane Humberto and nearby Hurricane Imelda, representing one-third of the region’s 27 homes that have fallen into the Atlantic since 2020.
Season’s final storm was one of the strongest on record
Almost all of the season’s first 12 storms followed similar tracks, forming over the open Atlantic Ocean before gradually curving out to sea. Every storm had avoided the Caribbean Sea until Melissa developed in the second half of October.
Hurricane Melissa grew from a classic wave that rolled off the coast of Africa. The disturbance tracked west into the Caribbean Sea, where it found extremely warm waters and favourable conditions for rapid intensification.
Melissa took full advantage of the environment around the storm. Meandering without any winds to steer it along, the storm rapidly intensified into a monstrous Category 5 hurricane south of Jamaica. Only one other year on record—the infamous 2005 season—has produced more than two scale-topping hurricanes in the Atlantic.
The hurricane peaked just as it made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on Oct. 28. Packing maximum sustained winds of 295 km/h and a minimum central pressure of 892 mb, Melissa was one of the strongest hurricanes ever observed at landfall anywhere in the world.
No additional storms formed behind Melissa, with unfavourable atmospheric conditions ending the basin’s activity a full month early.
Looking ahead to next year and beyond
The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization will field name retirement requests from nations affected by this year’s storms. It’s likely that Melissa will be the one and only name retired after this year, replaced by a new ‘M’ name when this year’s list is reused in 2031.
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Next year’s hurricane season begins on June 1, though it’s common for storms to form a few weeks before that unofficial start date. We’ve seen storms develop as early as January in previous years.
The 2026 Atlantic season will start with the names Arthur, Bertha, and Cristobal. Experts will release their first seasonal outlooks by the middle of next spring.
Header image of Hurricane Melissa courtesy of NOAA/CIRA.