Welcome to Hurricane Season 2025
Since June 1st, you’ve be thinking about the start of the summer vacation season.
Alas, something else of significance began on that date. June 1st marks the official start of hurricane season in Central Florida.
What should we expect this year? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just published its projections, and you’ll want to know them.
So, welcome to hurricane season 2025. Here’s what you should expect.
About Hurricane Season
Photo: National Weather Service
Coastal America suffers from frequent concerns regarding inclement weather. Storms begin off the coastline but then gradually make their way ashore.
While such weather can occur at any point, it’s statistically most likely to happen during a specific six-month period each year.
Photo: National Weather Service
In Florida, the impacted dates range from June 1st through November 30th, and if you know your recent Walt Disney World history, you recognize the accuracy of the statement.
Many of the recent closures at the parks occurred during these months. That’s because Disney officials err on the side of caution in times of extreme weather.
Main Street, U.S.A.
So, hurricane season means something different for Disney fans than it does for everyone else in the area.
For Sunshine State residents living near the water, a hurricane can mean abject disaster. Recent storms have caused billions of dollars of damage.
Cinderella Castle after Hurricane Milton
Many cities have suffered such extensive destruction that sections will never be repaired. It’s simply impossible.
When Walt Disney chose the land for his upcoming Florida theme park, he wisely selected an inland part of the state.
Magic Kingdom Closed Outdoor Kiosks Food Stands Hurricane Idalia, 2022
Not coincidentally, Walt Disney World has proven relatively weather-proof over the years.
While hurricanes can and do impact the Disney campus somewhat, their footprint is rarely as severe in this part of Central Florida.
Universal Orlando
That’s not to say that it’ll never happen, as Universal Orlando Resort had a wall ripped off a Jurassic Park ride during a recent hurricane. Luck is a factor here, too.
Still, Disney has proven so safe that it functions as a shelter from the storm. Many Floridians book hotel rooms at Disney and hole up there during hurricanes.
Remembering Last Year’s Hurricane Season
So, Disney fans track hurricane season for different reasons than everyone else in the area. For those of us out-of-state, the focus is on disrupted travel plans.
For Sunshine State residents, Disney provides safe harbor. It’s a welcome respite from the realities of hurricane season.
Disney’s resorts are well-stocked with food and water, and they never lose power thanks to an elegant solar farm on the Orlando campus.
Inclement weather definitely impacts Walt Disney World, though. We can look to the recent past as proof of incidents.
Photo: WESH
On October 9th, 2024, Disney closed its parks due to the impending threat of Hurricane Milton, which triggered widespread flooding in Florida.
After Disney shut down early on the 9th, it remained closed on October 10th. However, the guests were safe and sound during a weather event that caused $34.6 billion in damage.
Photo: skillastics.com
Remarkably, that was the calmer event of the two significant hurricanes impacting Florida last year.
Hurricane Helene actually arrived first, touching down in Florida on September 26th. Note that it’s not unusual for two such storms to arrive in close proximity.
FOX
This has happened several times in Florida over the past 30 years, with Helene and Milton being extreme examples.
Helene was far more savage, causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damage. This weather event reached winds of 140 miles per hour, making it a Category-4.
Photo: Fox 35 Orlando
If that sounds like a lot, it is. Helene qualifies as the “strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida.”
While Milton was a Category-5 hurricane, its highest wind speeds occurred at sea, where it was thankfully less impactful.
Photo: WESH
Despite the storm reaching an astounding 180 miles per hour, the fourth-highest wind pressure ever recorded, it was “only” a Cat-3 on landfall in Florida.
What to Expect in 2025
That’s the oddity of hurricane season. A storm’s behavior at sea is oftentimes quite different than when it makes land.
While Helene’s highest winds were 40 MPH less than Milton’s, the September hurricane wreaked much more havoc on the East Coast.
On a personal note, it wiped out an entire hospital (!) 30 minutes away from where I grew up. You may remember this viral video of a rescue attempt from the hospital’s roof:
That’s eight miles from my nephew’s house. He works for a utility company in the area, and they’re still working to restore functionality in some parts of the area eight months later.
Storms
For parts of the south, especially around Asheville, North Carolina, Helene proved an extinction-level event.
Remarkably, Disney never needed to close its theme parks. That’s the fascinating part of Central Florida. It’s far enough inland to avoid extreme weather, at least for the most part.
Photo: disneytouristblog.com
For its part, Walt Disney World safely protected guests and provided them with a much-needed escape during a turbulent time.
That’s historically what has happened during hurricane season, which is why the conversation proves so important to Disney fans AND Sunshine State residents.
FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Now, the NOAA has revealed its projections for 2025, and I may have literally breathed a sigh of relief.
As a reminder, in 2024, the NOAA projected 17 to 25 named storms, and we had 18. For 2025, the projections are lower.
NOAA/Scientific American
The NOAA indicates we will have 13 to 19 named storms. Among those events, six to ten will qualify as hurricanes.
Hopefully an Average Hurricane Season
According to the NOAA, the foremost experts on hurricanes, an “average” hurricane season features 14 named storms with seven hurricanes, three of which qualify as severe.
The NOAA’s 2024 projections were among the most alarming ever. Thankfully, 2025 appears much milder, at least based on early prediction models.
Photo: Travel and Leisure
The expectation is that there’s a 60 percent chance of an “above average” hurricane season, a 30 percent chance of a normal one, and a 10 percent chance of “below average.”
I know that we’re all hoping for below average, but the odds here are generally in our favor anyway. It’s 40/60 that we’ll have a regular-to-slow hurricane season.
Photo: disneytouristblog.com
While there’s a 60 percent chance that we’ll have more named storms than usual, the data still suggests a relatively calm 2025 after a couple of really rough years for hurricane season.
So, let’s all hope and pray that the experts are right on this one. None of us wants to go through anything like again in 2025.
Far too many Americans still haven’t recovered from Helene and Milton last fall.
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