The 2025 hurricane season, which runs June 1-Nov. 30, is predicted to have above-normal activity — with 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes, four of which could be major.
Colorado State University’s early predictions show a 65% probability of a hurricane making landfall in Florida and a 35% chance of it being a major hurricane, over a Category 3. CSU further broke down the probabilities and Florida’s East Coast, including the Florida Peninsula, has a 26% probability, which is 5% higher than the average.
Last year, there were 18 named storms during the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, according to NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service.
Five were major hurricanes with winds over 111 mph; 11 were hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or greater; and Florida got hit with three hurricanes: Debby, Helene and Milton.
Leading up to Hurricane Milton’s landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, at least 14 tornadoes spawned throughout the Treasure Coast, resulting in six people dying at Spanish Lakes Country Club Village in St. Lucie County.
Leading up to this hurricane season, over 880 workers were cut from NOAA in February, which includes the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, USA Today reported. Another 1,000 employees were later included in President Trump’s plan to cut costs in fiscal year 2026.
Whether you’re a lifelong or longtime Floridian or recently moved to the Sunshine State, here’s what you need to know about preparing for hurricane season.
When is Florida hurricane season? What is the 2025 hurricane forecast?
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
The season peaks around mid-August and late October because the waters in the equatorial Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico get warm enough to help support tropical wave development. (President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.)
Here are the CSU predictions for 2025 (compared to an average season):
The National Hurricane Center this year will institute these changes to its prediction methods:
National Hurricane Center cone of uncertainty
An experimental cone of uncertainty launched in 2024 displayed watches and warnings for inland counties for the first time, as well as for coastal counties.
Before that, the National Weather Service issued hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings for inland counties, but the National Hurricane Center’s maps didn’t show them, only those for coastal counties.
Based on feedback, the National Hurricane Center decided to add a symbol this year — diagonal pink and blue lines — for counties where both a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect.
2025 hurricane names
Since 1953, the National Hurricane Center has released a list of names in alphabetical order for Atlantic tropical storms before each season begins, which it recycles every six years. But it retires names of storms that are excessively deadly or costly, if it would be insensitive or inappropriate to use them again.
These are the 2025 Atlantic tropical cyclone names:
Treasure Coast evacuation zones and evacuation routes
Knowing if you live in an evacuation zone and where your evacuation routes are is vital if you need to leave quickly.
Each county has designated evacuation zones, typically on barrier islands and in low-lying, flood-prone areas, especially for mobile homes and other unsafe structures.
If you’re unsure if you live in one, each county has an interactive map on its website showing evacuation zones and the best routes to take, whether an evacuation is ordered or if you’re just being precautionary to relocate somewhere safer. Just type in your address to see if you fall within an evacuation zone in Indian River, Martin or St. Lucie.
Treasure Coast hurricane shelters
Hurricane shelters are opened if a storm threat is imminent, but they should be considered a refuge of last resort. The Treasure Coast has 39 shelters, which include four animal-friendly one and three for special needs.
The shelters are designed to house residents of the barrier islands, low-lying or flood-prone areas, evacuation zones, mobile or manufactured homes, or those without shelter.
Pre-registration for special needs shelters is available online on each county’s website.
Martin County hurricane shelters
The special-needs shelter is at Anderson Middle School, 7000 S.E. Atlantic Ridge Drive in Stuart. The pet-friendly shelter is at Willoughby Learning Center, 5150 S.E. Willoughby Blvd in Stuart. There are eight others:
St. Lucie County hurricane shelters
The special-needs shelter is at the Havert L. Fenn Center, 2000 Virginia Ave. in Fort Pierce, and the two pet-friendly shelters are at Fort Pierce Westwood High School, 1801 Panther Lane in Fort Pierce, and Treasure Coast High School, 1000 S.W. Darwin Blvd. in Port St. Lucie. There are 11 others:
Indian River County hurricane shelters
The special-needs shelter is at Treasure Coast Elementary School, 8955 85th St. in Sebastian, and the pet-friendly shelter is at Liberty Magnet Elementary School, 6850 81st St. in Vero Beach. There are 13 others:
Tornado safety during hurricane season
Tornadoes can strike at any point during the year, but Florida twisters are most common in spring and summer.
They are categorized by the Enhanced Fujita Scale based on their winds:
The Treasure Coast was hit with at least 14 tornadoes before Hurricane Milton made landfall, which resulted in six deaths in the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village mobile home community northwest of Fort Pierce. The most destructive tornado was an EF3 with winds from 136-165 mph that touched down in St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
People living in manufactured homes and low-lying, flood-prone areas should have a storm emergency plan and disaster kits ready to go if tornado, flood or hurricane threats hit the area, said St. Lucie County Public Safety Director Ron Guerrero.
Here’s what the different tornado alerts mean and tornado safety tips to follow, in the event of one:
What to do during a tornado
Here are some safety dos and don’ts if you find yourself caught in a tornado, according to NOAA:
What not to do during a tornado
How to set up tornado, weather, emergency alerts on your phone
You can sign up for emergency alerts on your phone at ready.gov/alerts.
Check with your service provider to find out if your cell phone or mobile device is compatible with receiving wireless emergency alerts. However, not all wireless service providers offer wireless emergency alerts, and some participating service providers may not offer it on all mobile devices, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
If you do not receive emergency alerts, check with your service provider to see if your mobile device is compatible. If it is, and you still don’t receive messages, check out your user manual, or if you have an iPhone, follow these steps:
Each county has its own alert system. You can sign up for AlertMartin, AlertSt.Lucie and Alert Indian River on the Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie county websites.
Treasure Coast emergency contacts
Part of preparing for a hurricane is knowing what government agencies to contact in an emergency.
Indian River County EOC
St. Lucie County Division of Emergency Management
Martin County EOC
Law enforcement
Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Martin County Sheriff’s Office
St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Vero Beach Police Department
Fellsmere Police Department
Sebastian Police Department
Fort Pierce Police Department
Port St. Lucie Police Department
Stuart Police Department
Fire departments
Indian River County Fire Rescue
St. Lucie County Fire District
Martin County Fire Rescue
Stuart Fire Rescue
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X @gonthescene.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is here. What to know about forecasts, emergency alerts
Reporting by Gianna Montesano, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
