The 2025 hurricane season, which ended on November 30, was exceptionally mild not only for Florida but for the entire United States as well! According to WLRN, for the first time in ten years, the whole country was spared. However, climate change continues to cause storms to intensify more rapidly. And the most recent proof of this phenomenon was Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica last October. Newly released data show that the Category 5 hurricane produced wind gusts reaching 252 mph (405 km/h; Scientific American), only 1 mph below the fastest gust ever recorded on Earth, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and 4 mph above the most powerful gust ever recorded in a tropical cyclone at sea. A Category 5 hurricane has sustained winds of more than 156 mph (252 km/h). This category is the highest on the Saffir–Simpson scale.
A weird hurricane season
Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami (UM), told WUSF that the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season was “unusual,” displaying many strange characteristics. In fact, the season ended at a level close to average, perhaps even slightly above an average hurricane season, due to a combination of storms that were at times very weak and at other times very intense. McNoldy explains that for about three weeks at the height of the dreaded season, conditions were calm, yet three Category 5 hurricanes occurred — the second-highest number ever recorded! And although, for the first time in ten years, no hurricane made landfall in the United States, the latest-forming storm since 2014 did occur. Thus, the mix of these positive and negative points makes the 2025 season slightly above average.
The expert points out that hurricane seasons vary considerably from one year to the next. Last year’s hurricane season was very active, particularly on the west coast of the Sunshine State, but it was calm this year. According to McNoldy, various atmospheric phenomena can alter vertical wind shear across large areas of the Atlantic, either reducing or increasing it. He also notes that fluctuations in conditions over West Africa directly influence the hurricane season, as storms generally form off the coast of that region.
Florida’s most notable hurricanes illustrate the unpredictable nature of hurricane seasons from year to year.
Some Floridians consider leaving the State
According to a survey conducted in late September by FAU’s (Florida Atlantic University) Center for Environmental Studies among 1,400 Floridians aged 18 and older, many respondents are dealing with the lasting consequences of extreme weather conditions and rising home insurance costs, and more than one-third of them are now considering leaving the state.
The Florida Climate Survey indeed revealed that 36% of Florida residents “had moved or were considering moving partly or entirely because of weather-related risks.”
WLRN notes that the survey was conducted one year after the state was struck in 2024 by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The level of concern among surveyed Floridians ranges from moderate to extreme regarding hurricanes becoming stronger and/or more frequent (63%), heavier rainfall in the state (61%), and greater flooding caused by storm surge along the coast (61%).
The survey recorded that 85% of Floridians continue to believe in climate change — the lowest level in six years — but only 52% think that climate change is caused by human activity.
