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Pack an umbrella—and maybe start stockpiling batteries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has just dropped its 2025 Atlantic hurricane season forecast, and it’s sounding the alarm: New Yorkers, brace for a stormier-than-usual stretch between June 1 and November 30.
This year, there’s a 60-percent chance of an above-normal hurricane season along the Atlantic coast, with 13 to 19 named storms expected. Of those, six to ten could become hurricanes, and three to five might intensify into major ones, packing winds of 111 mph or higher. Yikes.
The culprit is a perfect cocktail of storm-brewing conditions: bathtub-warm Atlantic waters, low wind shear and a feisty West African Monsoon system, which often births the biggest, baddest hurricanes. The usual Atlantic hurricane dampener, El Niño, isn’t swooping in to save the day either. We’re in a “neutral” ENSO year, meaning nothing’s stopping storms from spinning up.
“This outlook is a call to action: be prepared,” said National Weather Service Director Ken Graham. The message is clear: don’t wait until a hurricane’s on your doorstep to check your flashlights.
If this sounds like a rerun of the past few years, well, it kind of is. In 2023, Tropical Storm Ophelia flooded Brooklyn. In 2021, the remnants of Ida turned subways into swimming pools. And who could forget 2012’s Sandy, which turned Lower Manhattan into Venice-on-the-Hudson?
The good news? NOAA is beefing up its forecasting muscle. This season, storm advisories may come as early as 72 hours before landfall, and a new radar system (nicknamed ROARS) will scan hurricane guts from hurricane hunter planes. There’s even an experimental rainfall tracker that could give you a three-day heads-up before flash floods hit.
Still, while tech helps, it doesn’t replace common sense. Make your prep list now: batteries, water, pet food, backup chargers and yes, more snacks—because in a city where storms can shut down subways and flood entire neighborhoods overnight, being unprepared just isn’t an option.