This year marks the 20th anniversary of a very historic hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin. That season was the 2005 season. Until 2020 the 2005 had the most named storms in a season with 28. In 2020 that was broken when 30 named storms developed in the Atlantic.

I was a student in 2005 and one of my professors had us predict what we thought the season total would be. I went with 22-28 named storms, 12-16 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. Overall, the season was 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes (categories 3, 4, and 5).

The season was active due to an established La Nina before the Hurricane Season. This La Nina would peak in August, September, and October, which are the peak months in an Atlantic Hurricane Season. Also very warm water temperatures across the Atlantic, no wind shear, and very moist air set the stage for this historic season.

Like the previous hurricane seasons this season also featured a lot of destructive hurricanes.

* Beside a hurricane's name means the hurricane was a major hurricane.

Tropical Storm Arlene (6/8-6/13) Peak winds 70 mph lowest pressure 989 millibars. Arlene was a classic June storm as it developed in the Gulf. As it moved toward Florida it begin to strengthen. Arlene made landfall in the Florida Panhandle claiming 1 person and causing $12 million in damages.

Tropical Storm Bred (6/28-6/30) peak winds 40 mph lowest pressure 1002 millibars. Bret formed near the Mexico coastline and quickly moved inland. Bret caused 1 death and $10 million in damages.

Hurricane Cindy (7/3-7/7) peak winds 75 mph, lowest pressure 991 millibars category 1 hurricane. Cindy developed in the Gulf and intensified into a category 1 hurricane before landfall. Cindy caused 6 deaths and $330 million in damages.

*Hurricane Dennis (7/4-7/13) peak winds 150 mph lowest pressure 930 millibars category 4. Dennis developed in the Caribbean and became an unusual strong hurricane for the month of July. Dennis made landfall in Cuba as a category 4 hurricane, and later Florida as a category 3 hurricane. Dennis killed 90 people and caused $4 Billion in damages.

*Hurricane Emily (7/11-7/21) peak winds 160 mph lowest pressure 929 millibars category 5 Emily became the strongest July hurricane when it reached 160 mph making Emily a Category 5 hurricane. Emily made landfall in Mexico as a category 4 and again as a category 3. Overall, Emily caused $1.3 Billion in damages and 22 deaths.

Tropical Storm Franklin (7/21-7/29) peak winds 70 mph, pressure 997 millibars. Franklin formed on the Gulf Stream and stayed out to sea.

Tropical Storm Gert (7/23-7/25) peak winds 45 mph, lowest pressure 1005 millibars. Like Bret a month earlier Gert formed right off the Mexico coast. It quickly moved inland causing 1 death and $6 million in damages.

Tropical Storm Harvey (8/2-8/8) max winds 65 mph lowest pressure 994 millibars. Harvey stayed out to sea

Hurricane Irene (8/4-8/18) max winds 105 mph lowest pressure 970 millibars category 2 hurricane. Irene developed in the far Atlantic and eventually strengthened. Irene caused no impacts to any land areas.

Tropical Storm Jose (8/22-8/24) max winds 60 mph, pressure 998 millibars. Formed near Mexico and made landfall at peak intensity. Jose caused 11 deaths and $50 million in damages.

*Hurricane Katrina (8/23-8/30) max winds 175 mph lowest pressure 902 millibars, category 5 hurricane. Katrina developed along the Gulf Stream, made landfall in South Florida as a category 1 hurricane. Strengthened into a category 5 hurricane in the Gulf, but due to undergoing an eye wall replacement cycle it made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi as a high end category 3 hurricane. Overall, Katrina caused $125 Billion dollars of damage and over 1,800 deaths.

Tropical Storm Lee (8/28-9/2) max winds 40 mph lowest pressure 1006 millibars. Short lived storm that stayed out to sea.

*Hurricane Maria (9/1-9/10) max winds 115 mph lowest pressure 962 millibars. Category 3 hurricane that stayed out to sea.

Hurricane Nate (9/5-9/10) max winds 90 mph, lowest pressure 979 millibars category 1 hurricane. Formed in the Central Atlantic and stayed out to sea.

Hurricane Ophelia (9/6-9/17) max winds 85 mph, lowest pressure 976 millibars category 1 hurricane. Formed off the Carolina coastline and hugged the coast before finally going out to sea. Ophelia caused 4 deaths and $70 million in damages.

Hurricane Philippe (9/17-9/23) 80 mph winds pressure 985 millibars category 1 hurricane. Stayed out to sea and impacted no lands

*Hurricane Rita (9/18-9/26) max winds 180 mph, lowest pressure 895 millibars category 5 hurricane. Rita formed in a similar place that Katrina Did. Went over the central Gulf and became a category 5 hurricane. Weakened due to a cold front but still struck Texas and Louisiana as a category 3 hurricane. Rita caused 120 deaths and $17 Billion in damages.

Hurricane Stan (10/1-10/5) max winds 80 mph, lowest pressure 977 millibars category 1. Stan developed in the Bay of Campeche and made landfall in a highly populated area of Mexico. To make matters worse the area Stand made landfall was in elevation. Stan's flooding rains caused mudslides in Mexico. Overall, $3.5 Billion dollars worth of damage and 2,000 people died.

Unnamed Tropical Storm (10/4-10/5) max winds 50 mph lowest pressure 1005 millibars. Short lived storm that developed in the North Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Tammy (10/5-10/6) max winds 50 mph lowest pressure 1001 millibars. Short lived Tropical Storm that developed off the coast of Florida and moved inland. Tammy caused 10 deaths and $30 million in damages.

Hurricane Vince (10/8-10/11) max winds 75 mph lowest pressure 988 millibars category 1. Vince formed in North Atlantic and made landfall in Spain as a tropical depression impacts were minor.

*Hurricane Wilma (10/15-10/25) max winds 185 mph, lowest pressure 882 millibars. Wilma developed in the Caribbean and quickly became a category 5 hurricane. Made landfall in Mexico twice as a category 4 hurricane and Florida as a category 3 hurricane. Wilma caused 52 deaths and $26 Billion dollars worth of damage.

Tropical Storm Alpha (10/22-10/24) max winds 50 mph pressure 998 millibars. Alpha made landfall in Haiti killing 26 people.

*Hurricane Beta (10/26-10/31) max winds 115 mph, lowest pressure 962 millibars category 3 Beta developed in the Caribbean and and made landfall in Nicaragua as a category 2 hurricane after peaking as a category 3. Beta caused 10 deaths and $15 million in damages.

Tropical Storm Gamma (11/14-11/21) max winds 50 mph, lowest pressure 1002 millibars. Gamma developed in the Caribbean but unusually did not impact any land as it was absorbed by a frontal boundary.

Tropical Storm Delta (11/22-11/28) max wind 70 mph, lowest pressure 990 millibars. Delta formed in the North Atlantic and did not impact any land.

Hurricane Epsilon (11/29-12/8) max winds 85 mph lowest pressure 981 millibars category 1 hurricane. Developed in the Central Atlantic and stayed out to sea.

Tropical Storm Zeta (12/30/05-1/06/06) max winds 65 mph lowest pressure 994 millibars. Stayed out to sea and caused no impacts.

Overall the 2005 season produced a record amount of storms until it was broken in the 2020 season. The names Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, and Wilma were retired the following year due to their severe impacts on the nations they impacted. Also the season caused over $180 Billion in damages and close to 4,000 deaths. That is why this season was historic in so many ways. As of 2025 this is the only season to have 5 named storms that would get their names retired.

In conclusion, the 2005 season was way above average due to very warm water temperatures, and an established La Nina. This season has been studied due to the reasons I mentioned above.

2004 was a bad dream, 2005 was a nightmare

I don't know what unnamed Tropical storm was about but wouldn't it have been a Tropical Depression? because if I recall correctly storms don't get names unless they become Tropical Storms

I thought Vince formed closer to South America

The Unnamed tropical storm was not discovered until post season analysis that is why it is unnamed. Sometimes in post analysis the National Hurricane Center will determine a low pressure system in the Atlantic was indeed tropical and will just name it unnamed or give it a number. This has happened a few times even in the satellite era 1960-Present.

Hurricane Vince formed not to far from Europe. The one that formed in South America was Hurricane Catarina which formed off the coast of Brazil.

tornadocam: Just what we needed two of them

no kidding it's rare. Southern Atlantic AND off season

The Southern Atlantic Hurricane was very rare. Looking back on it now it seems to have been caused by very warm water and no wind shear. Usually in the South Atlantic there is very strong wind shear that would normally tear a system apart. Here it is 20/21 years later and that one is still being studied today. 2004 and 2005 were very historic years.