A retrospective on the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season

Abstract: The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season saw above average activity overall, with extended quiet periods separated by three distinct clusters of activity. The broad-scale conditions were often unfavourable for cyclogenesis and common drivers of activity such as La Nina were not present. However, short-term variability, including periods of weak shear and episodic equatorial wave driving, led to the clusters of activity. When storms were able to overcome the unfavourable conditions, above-average SSTs provided the energy for intensification, leading to the formation of five hurricanes, of which three (Erin, Humberto, and Melissa) reached category five.