Above-Normal Hurricane Season Predicted For Atlantic

Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting an above-average 2025 Atlantic hurricane season once again, with 13 to 19 named storms expected. The agency released their predictions during a Thursday morning news conference.

Six to 10 of the storms will likely strengthen into hurricanes and three to five of them are expected to become major hurricanes of a Category 3 or above, said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service.

There’s a 60 percent chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 30 percent chance of a near-normal season and a 10 percent chance of a below-average season, the NOAA forecast says.

Outlook is a "call to action," meteorologist says

“In my 30 years at the National Weather Service, we’ve never had more advanced models and warning systems in place to monitor the weather,” Graham said. “This outlook is a call to action: be prepared. Take proactive steps now to make a plan and gather supplies to ensure you're ready before a storm threatens."

There are a number of factors influencing this year’s hurricane forecast, including warm sea surface temperatures, low wind shear and African monsoons serving as “a conducive spot … to launch out the storms,” Graham said.

He added, “So, everything’s in place for an above-average season.”

NOAA’s outlook for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

'Explosive Development' Could Fuel Strong Hurricane Season

AccuWeather forecasters said warm water temperatures across most of the Atlantic Ocean led them to predict an active hurricane season comparable to last year.

AccuWeather is forecasting 13 to 18 named storms, with three to six having direct impact on the U.S. That's the same amount they forecast last year. "The water temperatures across most of the Atlantic are above average for this time of the year," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. "They're not quite as warm as what we saw last year and in 2023, but they're still well, well above average."

While New Jersey isn't among the areas AccuWeather predicts storms and hurricanes to make landfall, forecasters warned that that's only part of a storm's lifecycle.

“We witnessed tragic examples of just how far inland the impacts from hurricanes and tropical storms can reach. Hurricane Beryl spun up more than 60 tornadoes along its nearly 1,200-mile-long path from the Texas coast to upstate New York,” DaSilva said. “Hurricane Helene brought catastrophic flash flooding and destructive winds to the mountains of western North Carolina, hundreds of miles inland from where the storm made landfall in Florida."

The names for storms in the 2025 hurricane season are: