Sat | Dec 13, 2025

Get ready for another busy Atlantic hurricane season, but maybe not as crazy as 2024

Published:Tuesday | May 27, 2025 | 2:27 PM
Dustin Holmes, second from right, holds hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, while returning to their flooded home with her children Aria Skye Hall, 7, right, and Kyle Ross, 4, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, September 27, 2024, in Crystal River
Phelan M. Ebenhack
Dustin Holmes, second from right, holds hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, while returning to their flooded home with her children Aria Skye Hall, 7, right, and Kyle Ross, 4, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, September 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — With warmer than normal ocean waters, forecasters are expecting yet another unusually busy hurricane season for the Atlantic.

But they don’t think it will be as chaotic as 2024, the third-costliest season on record as it spawned killer storms Beryl, Helene and Milton.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday unveiled its outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1 and stretches through the end of November, with a 60% chance it will above normal, 30% chance near normal and just 10% chance it will be quieter than average.

The forecast calls for 13 to 19 named storms with six to 10 becoming hurricanes and three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph). A normal season has 14 named storms, seven of which strengthen to hurricanes and three power up further to major hurricanes.

Ocean warmth is not quite as high as last year’s off-the-charts heat.

But it’s sufficient to be the top reason for the busy forecast, National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said.

“Everything is in place for an above average season,” he said.

Despite massive job cuts at NOAA from the Department of Government Efficiency, “our ability to serve this country has never been better and it will be this year as well,” Graham said at a news conference Thursday in Gretna, Louisiana, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

“The hurricane centre is fully staffed up and we’re ready to go,” acting NOAA administrator Laura Grimm said. “We are making this a top priority for this administration.”

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