Hurricane season is long, why?
The peak of the Atlantic basin hurricane season is nearing its end with the U.S. escaping major impacts from tropical cyclones.
Through the end of September, nine named storms have formed across the basin, four of which strengthened into hurricanes, with three of those becoming major hurricanes with sustained winds topping 115 mph.
The totals sit just shy of the long-term seasonal averages, which during a typical season for the date would be around 10 named storms, five hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
The most powerful storm of the 2025 Atlantic season so far was Hurricane Erin, which intensified into a Category 5 cyclone while north of the Caribbean Sea.
Satellite image of Hurricane Erin on Thursday morning, Aug. 21, 2025.
(NOAA)
Erin remained more than 200 miles offshore but still produced extensive coastal flooding along the Eastern Seaboard.
With widespread beach erosion and rough seas stretching from the Southeast to New England, Erin has the distinction of being the costliest U.S. storm of the year, despite never making landfall.
The only cyclone to have made landfall in the U.S. was Tropical Storm Chantal back in July, but the cyclone was rather weak and fell apart within hours over the Carolinas.
2025 hurricane season timeline
(FOX Weather)
HURRICANE HUNTERS FLY INTO WORLD’S WORST WEATHER SEE WHICH STORM WAS THE BUMPIEST
What remains of the season
The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs through Nov. 30, and on average, October and November yield about four named storms, with two of those typically reaching hurricane strength and one intensifying into a major hurricane.
Unlike cyclones during the first four months of the season, systems that develop in October and November are less likely to threaten parts of the U.S. coastline.
Cold fronts and upper-level troughs, which become more common as winter approaches, tend to sweep storms out into the open Atlantic before they reach coastal communities.
This map shows where tropical cyclone activity tends to occur during October. The data are shown as the combined number of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes whose centers pass within 125 miles of a point on the map during a 100-year period. The analysis is based on data from the 72-year period from 1950 to 2021 but normalized to 100 years.
(FOX Weather)
Florida, however, can remain vulnerable into November, because of tropical systems that develop in the western Caribbean or southern Gulf.
The latest documented hurricane strike on Texas occurred on Oct. 16, while Alabama has not seen a landfalling hurricane beyond the Sept. 16 timeframe.
The latest the Florida coastline has been hit was Hurricane Kate in 1985. The Category 2 storm made landfall along the Florida Panhandle as a weakening cyclone on Nov. 21.
WHEN IS THE TYPICAL LAST HURRICANE STRIKE ON THE US COAST?
While the continental U.S. often sees its landfall risk diminish during the later fall months, late-season cyclones can still pose catastrophic threats.
Systems that are not swept away by the jet stream frequently drift westward into Central America, where mountainous terrain and vulnerable infrastructure amplify their impact.
One of the historical events happened in 1998, when Hurricane Mitch formed over the Caribbean in late October.
Mitch lingered for days before dissipating in early November, unleashing torrential rains and catastrophic flooding across Honduras, Nicaragua and neighboring nations.
The cyclone is estimated to have killed roughly 12,000 people, making it the second-deadliest hurricane in Atlantic history.
The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) is from June 1 to Nov. 30. As seen in the graph above, the peak of the season is Sept. 10. However, deadly hurricanes can occur anytime in the hurricane season.
(NOAA/NHC)
