The 2025 hurricane season came to a close this week with the island enduring two impacts but only minor damage.

A total of 13 named storms formed in the Atlantic over the course of the season, of which five became hurricanes. Of those, four grew to major hurricanes including three Category 5-strength storms.

Michelle Pitcher, of the Bermuda Weather Service, said that 2025 proved to be a slightly above average year but it may have felt quiet to some because it came after two very busy hurricane seasons.

Ms Pitcher said: “In 2024 we had 19 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes. In 2023 we had 22 storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

“With so many previously active years, when we are closer to normal it can skew people’s perceptions into thinking this year was quieter than usual.”

Ms Pitcher said the first storm of the year, Tropical Storm Andrea, was named on June 24, around the time the first storm is usually formed, and Hurricane Erin became the first major hurricane of the season on August 15, becoming the first Category 5 storm of the season the next day.

She said: “From our point of view, the National Hurricane Centre seasonal predictions were spot-on.”

Over the course of the season — which ended on November 30 — four storms approached the island.

In August, a Tropical Storm Warning was issued for Hurricane Erin, while a hurricane watch was put into effect for Hurricane Humberto on September 30.

They were followed by Hurricane Imelda, which hit the island on October 2, and Hurricane Melissa, which grazed the island on October 31.

Ms Pitcher said: “Here in Bermuda, we did get lucky as Imelda's interactions with Hurricane Humberto moved Humberto further away than was initially forecast.

“When Imelda passed, the impacts were less than initially forecast even though it passed less than 25 nautical miles (29 miles) to our south as a Category 2 hurricane.

“Melissa did bring hurricane-force winds to our exposed and elevated AWOS [automated weather observation system] stations but once it entered the Atlantic, the westward motion of the forecast track also spared the island from the strongest winds as it was also a Category 2 hurricane as it passed.”

While Hurricane Imelda brought sustained hurricane-force winds to the island, the storm was already losing strength when it reached the island’s shores.

About 18,000 Belco customers lost power at the peak of the storm and a wall of the former Hamiltonian Hotel collapsed, but the island otherwise escaped the storm largely unscathed.

Bermuda dodged a second bullet when Hurricane Melissa passed by after devastating Jamaica as a Category 5 storm.

While Hurricane Melissa passed about 130 miles to the northwest of Bermuda, the storm caused almost 20,000 homes to lose power.

The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the season was one of “striking contrast”, which generated three Category 5 hurricanes — the second most on record for a single season — but was quiet for almost a month during the season’s usual peak.

Neil Jacobs, a NOAA administrator, noted that for the first time in a decade no hurricanes struck the US, although other countries were not so fortunate.

He added: “The 2025 season was the first year NOAA’s National Hurricane Centre incorporated artificial intelligence model guidance into their forecasts.

“The NHC performed exceedingly well when it came to forecasting rapid intensification for some of the more impactful storms and provided critical decision support for our Caribbean partners.”