Riviera Maya, Q.R. — State meteorologists say Atlantic cooling and Sahara dust have been responsible for the quiet hurricane season. While as many as 17 storms were forecast for the Atlantic Basin during 2025, the season has produced less activity than expected.
Luis Antonio Morales Ocaña, a Riviera Maya meteorologist with State Civil Protection, says the lessened activity is also likely due to factors such as climate change.
Morales Ocaña says the constant presence of Sahara dust and the cooling of certain ocean areas are responsible for the lack of major storm systems developing in the Caribbean Sea this year.
Among the main causes, he cited, is the persistent presence of Sahara dust which inhibits cloud formation. He also says that cooler-than-usual ocean temperatures in some regions of the Atlantic are playing a factor, eliminating the conditions required for storms to develop.
Already this year, the Eastern Pacific has reported six named storms, three of which have been hurricanes. Two of those hurricanes developed into major category 3 or higher hurricanes. So far in the Atlantic, only four named storms have developed, Andrea, Barry, Chantal, and Dexter. Only Barry made landfall, soaking Florida July 21.
Despite the quiet season, Morales Ocaña warned that conditions could quickly change with the arrival of tropical waves from Africa since the Caribbean Sea is experiencing warmer temperatures that could favor the formation of cyclones in coming weeks.
