(NewsNation) — The 2025 hurricane season has come to an end, and for the first time in a decade, the United States avoided landfall despite several major storms.
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an “above average” Atlantic hurricane season, forecasting five major storms and up to 19 named systems.
The actual season didn’t shape up quite as intensely, with five hurricanes and 13 named storms, though it included three Category 5 hurricanes: Erin, Humberto and Melissa.
Only the devastating 2005 season had more high-powered hurricanes, with four Category 5 storms, including Hurricane Katrina.
And though the nation saw Tropical Storm Chantal make landfall in the Carolinas in July, this season will be remembered as the first year in a decade without a hurricane striking the U.S. or developing in the Gulf of Mexico.
On average, this should happen every four to five years, so the U.S. was overdue for a break.
A man watches the coastline in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa closes in Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) 
Lisa Bucci, hurricane specialist, works near screens showing Tropical Storm Erin as they continue to track its progress on Aug. 13, 2025, at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 
An employee surveys the damage at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. after it was flooded during Tropical Storm Chantal, July 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
The season will be most remembered for Hurricane Melissa, which devastated western Jamaica at the end of October and tied for the strongest hurricane on record to ever make landfall anywhere in the Atlantic, with peak winds of 185 miles per hour.
Despite the overall numbers falling short of an average season, it also brought several firsts, including a new chapter in forecasting with artificial intelligence computer models, hopefully leading the way to more accurate predictions in the years ahead.