Building resilience: How businesses can prepare for the 2025 hurricane season

The Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons are fast approaching, and early indicators suggest businesses across industries should be on alert. Sea-surface temperatures are running above average in key Atlantic hurricane formation zones close to the United States, a signal that aligns with many forecasts projecting an active season. While headlines often focus on storm counts, the intensity of storms, landfall risk, and inland flooding dangers are what keep risk managers and operational leaders up at night.

Whether you’re moving goods across the Gulf, managing wind farms in storm-prone regions, or trading energy in weather-sensitive markets, hurricane season isn’t just a weather story; it’s a business risk story. And in 2025, that risk is heightened with a potentially active hurricane season ahead.

Hurricane preparedness isn’t just about evacuation plans

Hurricane preparation is often focused on coastal evacuations and sandbagging, which are vital for safeguarding communities and mitigating flooding risks. However, for businesses, the checklist goes much deeper:

• Grid operators must assess grid hardening strategies and identify which assets are most vulnerable to outages and damage from hurricane-force winds or flooding.
• Traders need to align positions with real-time weather insights to minimize exposure to price volatility driven by refinery shutdowns, fuel demand shifts, or power generation losses.
• Agricultural firms should revisit planting schedules, harvest timelines, and storage logistics.
• Logistics and freight operators should pre-plan alternate transport routes, reposition assets, and coordinate with clients in vulnerable supply chains.

“Storms like Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Harvey show how impacts can extend far beyond the point of landfall, especially when it comes to flooding and extreme rainfall,” Spire Meteorologist and Expert Risk Communicator Rhiannon McDermid said. “As hurricanes grow stronger and bring larger-scale impacts, with some indications that greater rainfall amounts are linked to climate change, businesses well inland may face risks they’ve never encountered before. It’s critical to expand preparedness beyond the coast.”

Having timely, high-resolution, and accurate forecasts well in advance of disruption can be a significant differentiator.

Forecasting with precision: Why lead time matters

Longer lead times translate directly to better decisions—from adjusting vessel routes to hedging risk. Today, satellite-derived weather data, AI-enhanced forecasts, and probabilistic models allow businesses to gain earlier insights into potential disruptions.

Spire Weather & Climate’s space-powered forecasts deliver:

• High-resolution hourly forecasts that track storms and impacts up to six days in advance
• AI ensemble weather and sub-seasonal models (AI-WX, 20 days out, and AI-S2S, up to 45 days out) that reduce uncertainty and improve medium-range and long-range probabilistic risk assessment
• Decision support from an around-the-clock team of meteorologists, with expertise in risk communication, and our DeepVision™ risk management solution
• Global marine weather forecasts delivered through our Deep Navigation Analytics™ solution help to safeguard shipping and offshore operations
• Sector-specific forecasts and solutions for utilities, energy, agriculture, and logistics

Businesses leveraging these capabilities are able to act faster and with more confidence—whether it means scaling back offshore activity or optimizing energy portfolios.

The hidden risks of hurricane season

Wind speeds and rainfall often dominate attention, and for good reason as exhibited by the impactful 2024 hurricane season that dealt major blows from Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton. But the broader impacts of hurricanes can be financially detrimental in less visible ways, including:

• Supply chain disruptions: Temporary port closures, damaged rail lines, or washed-out roads can cause cascading logistics delays in affected regions.
• Data center vulnerabilities: Storm surge or flash flooding in unexpected regions can threaten backup systems and business continuity.
• Volatility in commodity and energy markets: Even distant hurricanes can rattle commodity prices or disrupt demand forecasts across regions not directly impacted.
• Worker safety and insurance risk: Displaced workforces and increased liability risks can delay projects and raise operational costs.

Understanding these ripple effects helps businesses prepare more comprehensively.

10 smart steps for business hurricane resilience

From supply chain disruptions to operational downtime, hurricanes pose multi-faceted risks to businesses. With storms growing more intense and erratic, resilience demands more than a weather eye. Here are ten proactive steps to help safeguard your operations before, during, and after landfall:

1. Audit critical operations: Identify facilities, infrastructure, supply chains, and personnel most vulnerable to storm impacts.
2. Leverage probabilistic forecasts: Use ensemble and risk-based outlooks and meteorologist support to drive scenario planning. Relying solely on deterministic track forecasts can leave your business at risk from far-reaching hurricane impacts.
3. Establish and communicate emergency action plans: Develop site-specific hurricane protocols, evacuation routes, and safety procedures, and ensure all employees are trained and clear on their roles.
4. Review and strengthen insurance coverage: Reassess policies annually to confirm adequate protection against flood, wind, and business interruption.
5. Streamline internal and external communications: Empower employees with clear emergency procedures, communication plans, and tools to remain safe and informed in a storm event. Ensure customers and stakeholders receive clear, consistent, and timely updates.
6. Evaluate and secure infrastructure: Reinforce physical structures, invest in flood barriers, and manage tree canopies or nearby hazards that could damage property.
7. Plan for secondary disruptions: Anticipate cascading effects like fuel shortages, transportation delays, and limited contractor availability.
8. Develop flexible continuity plans: Establish work-from-home capabilities, backup data centers, and alternate locations for time-critical operations.
9. Run hurricane-specific simulations: Conduct tabletop exercises tailored to your sector to uncover gaps in crisis response and recovery procedures.
10. Assess vendor and partner readiness: Confirm business partners and key suppliers have continuity plans aligned with your resilience standards.

As hurricane risks evolve, so must the way businesses interpret forecasts and build resilience. The best time to prepare is long before the next storm develops, and ideally, well ahead of hurricane season.

Weather intelligence as a strategic advantage

Too many companies treat weather as non-essential, until it’s too late. Leading organizations are integrating weather intelligence into their day-ahead, week-ahead, and seasonal planning processes, translating forecasts into ROI-driven decisions.

Spire’s solutions are built with B2B use in mind, combining proprietary satellite data with advanced modeling to deliver tailored insights for:

• Utilities and energy operators managing outage risk and generation variability
• Traders optimizing portfolios around supply shocks and market swings
• Insurance and finance evaluating risk exposure for underwriting and claims
• Logistics and transportation planning asset movements ahead of storms

The bottom line to protecting your bottom line: Prepare and act earlier to stay resilient

Hurricane season doesn’t just test the strength of your infrastructure—it tests the strength of your foresight. With intelligent weather insights and sector-specific planning, businesses can turn potential disruption into an opportunity to lead with resilience.

The 2025 season will bring uncertainty. But with the right tools, you don’t have to face it unprepared.