June 1 marks the start of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters are warning this year could once again bring an above-average number of storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting 13 to 19 named storms between June 1 and Nov. 30, compared with an average of 14 storms per year from 1991-2020.
Warmer ocean temperatures are contributing to more storms, NOAA said in its May forecast, because more heat means more energy to fuel activity.
Experts say people should prepare well ahead of time — even if they live inland.
"It takes only one storm near you to make this an active season for you," professor Michael Bell, who leads Colorado State University's Tropical Cyclones, Radar, Atmospheric Modeling, and Software Team, said in a statement.
Storms bring rising flood risks
Even storms that don't turn into hurricanes can cause deadly floods, and experts say water-related hazards cause most deaths related to hurricanes that make landfall.
"We want people now to take the advantage of the opportunity to best prepare, both at the coast and then also well inland, where serious impacts from flooding and wind and tornadoes can occur as well as a tropical storm or hurricane moves inland," Jon Porter, AccuWeather chief meteorologist, said in a video forecast on Friday.
Scientists say climate change means storms are dumping more water and bringing more rain and damage further away from the coast.
"Hurricanes can have significant inland impacts," Michael Brennan, director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center, said at a press conference on Friday. "It's important to get that message out to inland communities, especially in flood-prone areas, because that freshwater flooding has been such a significant source of fatalities in recent years."
DOGE cuts threaten weather forecasting
As this year's hurricane season neared, the Trump administration targeted weather and climate research. It fired hundreds of NOAA employees and proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts at the agency for 2026, including gutting climate research and slashing funds for satellites that provide critical data for weather forecasts.
Fired employees told NPR they fear the cuts will undermine improvements in hurricane forecasting, even as storms are getting more dangerous.
The National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, has lost more than 500 workers through the cuts by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency and the departure of those who took the government's early retirement offer.
One of them is Brian LaMarre, who was a NWS meteorologist in the Tampa Bay area until he took early retirement in April.
"I don't think the current situation is sustainable," LaMarre told NPR's Scott Simon on May 24. "When you have 122 offices and many of them are short-staffed … that right there is a recipe for disaster when you look at the long-range forecast."
In May, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said NOAA and the NWS were using "the most advanced weather models and cutting-edge hurricane tracking systems to provide Americans with real-time storm forecasts and warnings." He added: "With these models and forecasting tools, we have never been more prepared for hurricane season." NOAA is a part of the Department of Commerce.
"We're ready here, and that's what I can speak to is, directly, the readiness of us and our staff here at the National Hurricane Center," the NHC's Brennan said on Friday. "We're ready to meet the needs of the [emergency management] community across the country as they come up this hurricane season, just as we always are."
How many storms could the 2025 season bring?
NOAA says six to 10 of 2025's forecast storms are expected to become full-blown hurricanes — with winds of 74 mph or higher — and three to five could be major hurricanes, with winds of 111 mph or above.
That's in line with predictions from other forecasters, including at Colorado State University, who said in April they expect 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, and AccuWeather, who are forecasting 13 to 18 named storms and seven to 10 hurricanes.
In 2024, there were 18 named Atlantic storms, and five hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S. That included Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people and caused devastating flooding across the southeastern U.S., and Hurricane Milton, whose storm surge and accompanying tornadoes in southern Florida caused $34.3 billion in damage, according to NOAA.
What are the 2025 storm names?
This year's names, chosen by the World Meteorological Organization, are:
- Andrea
- Barry
- Chantal
- Dexter
- Erin
- Fernand
- Gabrielle
- Humberto
- Imelda
- Jerry
- Karen
- Lorenzo
- Melissa
- Nestor
- Olga
- Pablo
- Rebekah
- Sebastien
- Tanya
- Van
- Wendy
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