Looking back: Extreme weather and disasters that made 2025 a year to remember
From Hurricane Melissa to the tragic Texas Hill Country floods and the strongest solar storm of the year that brought stunning aurora borealis views to millions of Americans - here are some of the top weather moments of the year.
New Year's Eve festivities underway in New York City
Crowds have filled the streets of Times Square with a chance for some midnight magic on New Year's Eve in the Big Apple.
In 2025, extreme weather and natural disasters delivered earth-shattering, heart-stopping moments that were chronicled on FOX Weather, as they happened.
Each month packed a punch in a unique way. Records were shattered, droughts ended, and the sky was illuminated in an unforgettable year.
Here's a look back at some memorable weather moments from each month, from January to December.
January: Wildfires, historic Gulf Coast blizzard warning
The year started off hot when much of Southern California was engulfed in flames in the historic fires that spanned across the month of January.
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More than 16,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and tens of thousands of acres were scorched in the multitude of fires.
The fires rapidly spread through densely populated neighborhoods due to extreme winds raging at up to 100 miles per hour.
A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025.
(PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While the eyes of the world were on California during the historic wildfires that raged through the month and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, the first-ever Blizzard Warning was issued along the Gulf Coast when a deadly winter storm slammed Texas.
New Orleans shatters old snow record
The Big Easy saw 8" of snow during the late-January snowstorm, with winds causing snowdrifts to approach a foot in some areas.
Snow totals ranged from about 2 to 4 inches across the greater Houston area.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the William P. Hobby Airport picked up 3 inches of snow on Jan. 20, making it the most snow in one day since Jan. 30, 1949.
Several fatalities were reported in the region's rare bout of wintry weather.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 21: A person stands in the snow on Canal Street on January 21, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A winter storm brought rare snowfall to the Southern states including Florida, Texas and New Orleans, shutting down schools and businesses and drawing out locals, many of whom had never seen snow before. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
New Orleans shattered its snow total record on Jan. 21 when near blizzard conditions slammed southeast Louisiana during a major winter storm.
SNOW BLANKETS NEW ORLEANS DURING HISTORIC GULF COAST WINTER STORM
The single-day snow total record was also shattered when Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport recorded 8 inches of snow, breaking the previous record set on Dec. 31, 1963 with a record of 2.7 inches.
The storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue the first-ever Blizzard Warning for southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas.
February: Historic flooding from the Tennessee Valley to the Appalachias
A historic flooding event spanning from Virginia to Kentucky unfolded on the weekend of Feb. 15 when a powerful storm system brought numerous threats to the eastern half of the U.S.
The catastrophic flooding left nine people dead in Kentucky, and included a levee failure in Tennessee.
Deadly flash flooding event unfolding across Kentucky, Tennessee
FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell reports from Clarksville, Tennessee where more than 7 inches of rain caused devastating flash flooding.
Numerous high-water rescues were performed across the affected states to help those trapped by rising and raging floodwaters.
Watch: Drone video provides bird's-eye view of deadly Kentucky flooding
A drone video is providing a dramatic, bird's-eye look at catastrophic and deadly flooding that occurred across portions of Kentucky over the weekend. The video shows numerous buildings surrounded by water near Levi Jackson Park in London, Kentucky, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
March, April & May: Severe weather, tornado chaos
At least 43 people died across eight states in a massive outbreak that sent over 100 tornadoes across the South and America's Heartland, including three dangerous EF-4 tornadoes across a three-day period in mid-March.
Recovery just beginning after nearly 90 tornadoes rip through 13 states
Damage surveys from National Weather Service offices across the South and America's Heartland continue to offer new information about the destructive and deadly tornado outbreak from this weekend. Nearly 90 tornadoes, including three EF-4 tornadoes, have been confirmed through the NWS. FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillon recaps what we know about the devastation from the storm.
From March 13 to 16, at least 26 EF-2 tornadoes and 34 EF-1 tornadoes also touched down during the severe weather outbreak.
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According to a natural catastrophe report, the historic outbreak caused an estimated $11 billion in damage.
Tornado damage in Cave City, Arkansas on March 15, 2025.
(Kristen Lashley / X / FOX Weather)
April kicked off with a relentless montage of tornadoes and historic flash flooding across the Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and parts of the south starting April 2.
A trail derailed as the Warm Fork Spring River flooded during severe storms on April 5, 2025.
(Donell Russell / FOX Weather)
At least 24 people died in Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Georgia, with a majority of the deaths occurring in Tennessee.
Historic flood levels recorded in Arkansas following severe storms
Historic flood levels have been recorded in Arkansas following severe storms over the weekend. Flood Warnings will remain in effect statewide until Wednesday. FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel, who covered the initial impact this weekend, is live on location in Jacksonport, Arkansas, providing ongoing flood updates.
Heavy rain triggered flash flooding that plagued much of the affected region, including in Jacksonport, Arkansas, where FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel reported live on scene.
An image of the Ashland Avenue area of St. Louis after the May 17, 2025, tornado.
(MAXAR / FOX Weather)
Unpredictable severe weather and tornadoes continued across the U.S. through May.
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On May 16, a powerful EF-3 tornado raged through the St. Louis Area in Missouri, killing at least seven people.
Drone shots captured extensive damage to a neighborhood that fell victim to the relentless tornado.
Aerial footage of tornado damage in St. Louis
(FOX Weather)
June: EF-5 tornado drought over
On June 20, a powerful derecho produced a deadly tornado that ran rampant across North Dakota, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Three people were killed when a tornado swept through the rural town of Enderlin, North Dakota just after 11 p.m., officials said.
NORTH DAKOTA TORNADO OUTBREAK SETS NEW YEARLY TORNADO RECORD
Initial damage surveys gave the tornado a preliminary rating of EF-3 or stronger on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Deadly tornado bears down on Enderlin, North Dakota
A tornado rolled through the rural town of Enderlin on June 20, 2025, leaving at least three dead as it destroyed homes.
It wasn't until three months later in October that National Weather Service officials completed additional analysis and rated the deadly tornado an EF-5, the strongest on the tornado rating scale.
HOW ARE TORNADOES RATED? THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE EXPLAINED
The tornado ended a more than 12-year drought and marked the first EF-5 tornado in the U.S. since May 20, 2013, in Moore, Oklahoma.
According to the NWS assessment, the Enderlin tornado's estimated wind speed was greater than 210 mph. The forceful tornado even caused a train to derail, tossing one empty tanker approximately 475 feet.
This image shared by FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows the damage and destruction left behind after a powerful derecho spawned destructive winds and a deadly tornado in Enderlin, North Dakota.
(Robert Ray / FOX Weather)
July: Tragic Fourth of July Texas flood
The eyes of the nation were on Texas on the Fourth of July when devastating flash flooding tragically left more than 100 people dead across the Texas Hill Country.
TORRENTIAL RAIN TRIGGERS FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY IN TEXAS HILL COUNTRY, DALLAS SETS RAINFALL RECORD
Record-breaking rainfall triggered the deadly flash flooding, and an ensuing wall of water that surged through the Guadalupe River that rose over 20 feet in just a few hours.
Guadalupe River in Texas reaches major flood stage at nearly 30 feet
Historic rain slammed the city of Kerrville, Texas, Friday morning. Footage shot from a bridge overlooking the Guadalupe River, which runs through Kerrville, shows the river surging with floodwater. NOAA river gauges show the Guadalupe River was at nearly 30 feet.
According to NASA, the catastrophic flash flood is the sixth-deadliest fresh water flood in U.S. history.
Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian camp located along the river in the Kerr County town of Hunt, was in the direct path of the historic flooding. Tragically, 27 campers and one camp counselor died when the river had risen even higher than the areas mapped as a 500-year flood event.
A photo showing the area in Kerrville decimated after flooding.
(Nearmap / FOX Weather)
August: Hurricane Erin, Phoenix dust storm
Hurricane Erin became the first major hurricane of the 2025 season in August, and strengthened from a Category 1 hurricane to a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph in a matter of hours on Aug. 16.
Hurricane Erin on Saturday, August 16 via satellite
(CIRA_CSU / NOAA)
Hurricane Erin delivered significant swell and caused coastal flooding along the East Coast.
HURRICANE ERIN'S HIGH TIDES IMPACT SEA TURTLE NESTS ALONG EAST COAST BEACHES
On Aug. 25, an epic dust storm, known as a haboob, swept across the Phoenix area in Arizona and knocked out power for thousands of utility customers, causing travel chaos as damaging winds ripped across the region.
Watch: Best clips of dust haboob taking over Phoenix area
DUST IN THE WIND: Watch the best angles of the haboob dust storm that swept over the Phoenix area on Aug. 25, 2025
The dust storm took over the Phoenix Metro Area, engulfing entire neighborhoods, an airport and a college football stadium, with reported winds between 50 and 65 mph and visibility just ¼ of a mile, according to the NWS.
September: Tropics heating up
Hot off the heels of Hurricane Gabrielle, in late September, Hurricane Humberto and Tropical Storm Imelda danced in the tropics that woke up in September.
Hurricane season is wrapping up with some record-breaking statistics
The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season has been an interesting one, with no landfalling hurricanes in the U.S., and Hurricane Melissa becoming the most intense landfalling hurricane in 90 years. FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross gives his expert analysis on the season as it comes to an end.
The 2025 hurricane season produced 13 named storms, with five hurricanes and four storms marked Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
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Tropical Storm Imelda on the left near Florida, and Hurricane Humberto on the right in the Atlantic, both seen by NOAA GOES Satellite on Sept. 29, 2025.
(NOAA)
For the first time since 2015, not a single hurricane made landfall in the U.S.
October: Hurricane Melissa devastates Jamaica
October produced one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall on record, when Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, on Oct. 28, packing wind speeds of 185 mph.
Gut-wrenching damage in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray takes a journey through some of the worst damage in Black River, Jamaica, near where Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 storm. Ray found people are desperate for food, water and resources to begin recovery.
The storm caused extensive damage and devastated western Jamaica, where FOX Weather Field Correspondent Robert Ray was on scene to capture the immediate recovery from the historic storm.
DRONE VIDEO SHOWS CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO JAMAICA STADIUM, NEIGHBORHOOD AFTER HURRICANE MELISSA
The Category 5 hurricane killed over 30 people in Jamaica and Haiti, and has set the stage for a long recovery process for the Caribbean island nation.
See it: Drone video reveals catastrophic damage in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa
Watch: Drone footage shows extensive damage in Holland Bamboo, Jamaica, caused by the historic Hurricane Melissa. This horrific storm made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, leaving a trail of devastation.
According to the World Bank Group, physical damages in Jamaica are estimated at $8.8 billion, making it the costliest storm in Jamaica's history.
November: Northern Lights dazzle the U.S.
A powerful geomagnetic storm produced vibrant Northern Lights in the strongest solar flare of the year.
Northern lights dazzle over Johnston, Iowa
The northern lights dazzle over Johnston, Iowa on Nov. 11, 2025.
Dazzling aurora borealis displays were observed across the Northern Tier of the Lower 48 and beyond.
'SEVERE' GEOMAGNETIC STORM PRODUCES NORTHERN LIGHTS OVER LOWER 48
The strength of the storm allowed states like North Carolina, which normally don't see the aurora, to enjoy the light show.
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Stunning aurora displays were shared across social media platforms, and were visible with a camera lens as far south as Oklahoma.
Northern Lights over Marion County, IL on Nov. 11, 2025.
(@caseyphotoz/X)
December: Christmas Eve flood, snow blankets the Northeast
December has been an active weather season on both the East and the West coast.
On Christmas Eve, rounds of rain slammed the Los Angeles Metro Area on what was the wettest Christmas Eve on record at Los Angeles International Airport.
WATCH: Mudslides from powerful Christmas Eve storm triggered evacuations in San Bernardino, CA
Mudslides from a powerful Christmas Eve storm washed out State Route 2 near Wrightwood, California and triggered evacuations in San Bernardino County, CA. First responders have requested additional crews to assist with evacuations.
Widespread Flash Flood Warnings were issued across the Los Angeles metro area and other parts of Southern California, when the powerful Christmas Eve storm triggered mudslides and emergency evacuations across the region.
In the days after Christmas, a powerful winter storm blanketed the Northeast, bringing the highest snow totals to Central Park in New York City in over three years.
People walk in the snow in Central Park in New York City on December 27, 2025. New York City received around 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow overnight. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The snow didn't stop there. To wrap up 2025, a massive lake-effect snowstorm dumped feet of snow on parts of the Northeast, bringing feet to cities like Syracuse.