2025 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season Recap
More Activity Basin-Wide, But Los Cabos Mostly Saw the Rain (and Not Much Else)
I’m overdue closing the book on the 2025 Eastern Pacific hurricane season. With questions already coming in about what 2026 might look like, it felt wrong to leave last season hanging.
The short version:
The basin ended up more active than some early forecasts suggested, but for Los Cabos and most of Baja California Sur, 2025 was a season of rain, monitoring, and cleanup — not major wind damage or direct hurricane landfalls. Mainland Mexico, particularly with Hurricane Erick, did see more significant impacts, and those communities remain in our thoughts.
A Quick Look Back at the Pre-Season Forecasts
Back in April:
- SEMAR forecast 19 total systems
(1 tropical depression, 8 tropical storms, 6 Category 1–2 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes) - NOAA projected a near-average season:
12–18 named storms, 5–10 hurricanes, 2–5 majors - ENSO conditions: Neutral — historically the most variable and hardest to pin down
As I’ve said before, neutral ENSO years make me a little uneasy. They don’t guarantee impacts, but they don’t rule them out either. (This update is from Live Cabo Radio / Just Jenn — original reporting based on local data in Cabo San Lucas.)
What Actually Happened (NOAA / NHC Final Numbers)
- Named storms: 18
- Hurricanes: 10
- Major hurricanes (Category 3+): 4
- Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE): ~127 (near to slightly above average)
- Season duration: May 15 through November 30
From Alvin in late May to Sonia in late October
In other words, we landed near the upper end of NOAA’s range and slightly above SEMAR’s expectations for overall activity — especially when it came to hurricanes.
Warm water did what warm water tends to do.
Storms That Mattered (and Why)
There were no direct hurricane landfalls in Baja California Sur in 2025. Most systems stayed offshore, weakened before arrival, or tracked toward mainland Mexico.
For us, the recurring issues were rain, localized flooding, and surf — not destructive winds.
- Early and mid-season systems like Alvin and Barbara produced scattered rainfall, with more significant impacts east of us.
- Hurricane Erick (June, Category 4) became the season’s most damaging storm, making early landfall in southwestern Mexico with estimated damages near $275 million USD. It stayed well away from Los Cabos but deserves mention due to its severity.
Hurricane Lorena: The Closest Call for Los Cabos
Lorena (late August into early September, peak Category 1) passed roughly 100–210 miles west of Cabo San Lucas. While it never made landfall, its rain bands produced the most notable local impacts of the season.
Reported rainfall totals included:
- Santa Anita: 12.28 inches
- San José del Cabo: 8.98 inches
- Cabo San Lucas area: roughly 7–8 inches
Impacts across parts of BCS included:
- Street and home flooding (at least 8 inundated, 3 swept away)
- Landslides and road damage
- Around 50 stranded vehicles
- Minor power outages
- Marina and small-craft damage from surf
- Approximately 1,200 temporary evacuations
- School closures
Importantly, no fatalities were reported in BCS. Cleanup crews, including the National Guard, handled debris and mud removal — even at medical facilities.
Other late-season systems (including Mario and Priscilla) contributed additional rainfall, brief flooding, and rough surf. In several areas, the rain helped ease drought conditions, even if it caused short-term disruptions.
The Bottom Line for Los Cabos and BCS
This was not a quiet season — but it also wasn’t a destructive one for our region.
- Short-term disruptions to travel and beach access
- Flooding and cleanup after heavier rain events
- No widespread wind damage
- No major infrastructure losses
Basin-wide damages exceeded $439 million USD, but impacts in Baja California Sur were comparatively low, likely limited to localized repairs.
We managed to get rain without long-term ruin — which, in this part of the world, is a balance we don’t always get.
Rainfall: A Much-Needed Improvement
After several drier years — including 2024, when my station recorded just over 5 inches total — 2025 was a noticeable improvement.
My personal weather station:
- icabos3
CWOP GW3887 (Weather Underground, Cabo San Lucas)
Recorded approximately 10 inches for the year, with a large portion coming from Lorena. Other parts of Los Cabos reported anywhere from 3 to 12 inches during the season, pushing annual totals closer to the wetter side of normal (roughly 14–15 inches on average, heavily weighted toward summer and fall). All rainfall numbers referenced for Cabo San Lucas come from my personal weather station (icabos3 / CWOP GW3887), unless otherwise noted.
The desert noticed.
A Quick (Honest) Station Note
Late August — during a lightning-heavy storm — appears to have done a number on my temperature sensor.
Rainfall and wind data remained reliable.
Temperature data, however, went into full temperature-tantrum mode, including that memorable early-morning 119°F reading that understandably raised eyebrows.
When the sensor dries out, it behaves again — but yes, temperature readings are now unreliable during wet periods. Rain data held up throughout the season, which is what mattered most in 2025.
Final Thoughts
Neutral ENSO conditions brought more systems and closer rain tracks, but Baja California Sur’s geography once again helped spare us from the worst winds. Preparation, vigilance, and a little luck carried us through.
Thank you to everyone who followed along during hurricane season here and on Facebook, shared updates, asked smart questions, and stayed level-headed when storms were in the forecast.
If you have photos or stories from Lorena, feel free to share them — they’re part of this season’s record.
Here’s hoping for a calm off-season.
Just Jenn
Live Cabo Radio
If you share this elsewhere, please link back to Live Cabo Radio so the original source stays intact.
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