Comparing Three Atlantic Seasons: 2005, 2020, and 2025
As we begin the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane season, Hurricaneville takes another look back at the 2025 season in terms of the quality of its numbers. Although the 2025 season produced fewer than half the named storms and hurricanes that 2005 and 2020 had, it still produced a good number of intense hurricanes.
Eighty percent of the hurricanes that developed in 2025 became major storms of Category Three strength or better on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Sixty percent of the 2025 season’s hurricanes eventually became Category Five storms. As a matter of fact, the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season produced the second-highest number of Category Five Hurricanes on record. The only season with more was 2005, and it wasn’t by much despite the larger number of storms and hurricanes that year.
The moral of the story is don’t be fooled by the number of named storms and hurricanes over the course of a season. Especially this year, with the forecasted below-average number of storms and hurricanes due to the anticipated emergence of a powerful El Niño. All it takes is one storm to find the right environmental conditions to develop into a very high-end major hurricane, such as a Category Five. Be prepared for every season as if a storm will affect your area.
| Type | 2005 | 2020 | 2025 | Hurricaneville’s 10-Year Average | NOAA’s 30-Year Average |
| Number of Storms | 28 | 30 | 13 | 18 | 14 |
| Number of Hurricanes | 15 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| % of Storms that became hurricanes | 53.6 | 46.7 | 38.5 | 44.4 | 50.0 |
| Number of Major Hurricanes | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| % of Storms that became major hurricanes | 25.0 | 23.3 | 30.8 | 22.2 | 21.4 |
| % of Hurricanes that became major hurricanes | 46.7 | 50.0 | 80.0 | 50.0 | 42.9 |
| Number of Category Five Hurricanes | 4 | 0* | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| % of Storms that reached Cat 5 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 23.1 | 5.6 | 0.0 |
| % of Hurricanes that reached Cat 5 | 26.7 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| % of Major Hurricanes that reached Cat 5 | 57.1 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| Number of Hurricanes that made U.S. landfall | 5 | 6 | 0^ | 3 | 2 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) | 245.3 | 179.8 | 133.0 | 149.2 | 122.1 |
* Although there were no Category Five systems in 2020, there were several high-end Category Four storms with 150 mile per hour winds (Laura, Eta, and Iota).
^ Although there were no U.S. Landfalls in 2025, there was still a landfall in Jamaica that happened to be a Category Five storm (Melissa).