Researchers at Colorado State University said Thursday the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season will likely have above-normal activity, with 17 named storms.
The prediction by the school’s Department of Atmospheric Science, a well-respected hurricane research center, follows 18 named storms in 2024. The 20-year average between 1991 and 2020 was 14.4 per year.
CSU predicts nine of the storms will reach hurricane strength, compared with the 7.2 average, and four will be major hurricanes, compared with 3.2.
The probability of at least one Category 3 or higher hurricane hitting the United States this year is 51%, compared with the 140-year average of 43%, the CSU report said.
“Sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central tropical Atlantic are warmer than normal, although not as warm as they were last year at this time,” the report said.
Higher sea temperatures, combined with La Niña or neutral El Niño-Southern Oscillation conditions, create an environment more conducive to hurricane formations, CSU said.
