Learn key hurricane season terms and discover how real-time flood forecasting empowers communities to prepare, respond, and build resilience against rapidly intensifying storms.
The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season is already demonstrating the speed at which tropical systems can intensify, often leaving communities with little time to react. In moments like these, knowledge and preparedness become the strongest defenses against loss and disruption.
At Streamline Technologies, we know that resilience requires more than just awareness; it requires the right tools. By combining education with cutting-edge technology, we empower municipalities, emergency responders, and stormwater managers to protect lives and safeguard infrastructure.
In this piece, we break down the essential terminology you need to know this hurricane season, as well as highlight how our innovative real-time flood forecasting system is designed to give communities the confidence to act decisively before, during, and after major storm events.
Hurricanes are among the most complex and destructive natural events, yet their behavior follows patterns that meteorologists carefully track. By understanding the terms commonly used to describe storms, their development, and their impacts, communities can interpret forecasts more effectively and make informed decisions when it matters most.
All hurricanes begin as tropical cyclones, organized systems of thunderstorms fueled by warm ocean waters. These storms progress through a series of stages as they intensify. A tropical disturbance begins as disorganized showers and thunderstorms without a defined circulation. Once circulation becomes more structured and winds reach up to 38 mph, it is classified as a tropical depression. If sustained winds strengthen to between 39 and 73 mph, the system becomes a tropical storm and is formally named.
When winds reach 74 mph, the storm is designated as a hurricane, and if it grows to 111 mph or higher, it is considered a major hurricane. Major hurricanes – Category 3 and above on the Saffir-Simpson Scale – pose the greatest threat to life and infrastructure. Not all storms retain their tropical characteristics, however. Some weaken into post-tropical cyclones, which can still bring heavy rain and damaging winds, or transition into subtropical or extratropical systems, which derive energy from temperature contrasts in the atmosphere rather than warm seas. Other terms, such as potential tropical cyclones, describe systems not yet fully developed but likely to impact land within 48 hours, allowing officials to issue watches and warnings in advance.
Meteorologists also monitor tropical waves, disturbances moving westward from Africa across the Atlantic, many of which act as the seeds for storm development, and invests, storm systems flagged for investigation and data collection.
Once developed, hurricanes exhibit distinct features that shape their impacts. At the center lies the eye, a calm zone sometimes clear of clouds. Surrounding it is the eyewall, a ring of intense thunderstorms containing the strongest winds and heaviest rainfall. Particularly intense storms may undergo an eyewall replacement cycle, where a new eyewall forms around the old one, temporarily weakening the storm before it reorganizes, and often grows larger.
Beyond the core, spiraling feeder bands carry heavy rains far from the storm’s center, while hazards such as storm surge – the abnormal rise of ocean water pushed ashore by the storm’s winds – remain the deadliest consequence of hurricanes. Secondary threats, including tornadoes and rip currents, frequently accompany storms, adding further danger for coastal and inland communities.
Meteorologists classify hurricane strength using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a rating system based on a hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speed and estimated potential property damage ranging from Category 1 to Category 5:
While the scale provides a clear measure of potential wind damage, it does not capture storm surge or rainfall, both of which often determine the true severity of impacts.
Forecasts are often communicated using the cone of uncertainty, which illustrates the projected path of the storm’s center based on historical forecast accuracy. However, impacts such as heavy rain, flooding, and strong winds frequently extend far outside the cone, making it essential for communities not to focus solely on its boundaries. Increasingly common in today’s warming climate is the phenomenon of rapid intensification, where a storm’s wind increases by at least 35 mph within 24 hours, leaving very little time for preparation.
Data collection is vital to these forecasts. Specialized aircraft known as Hurricane Hunters, operated by the U.S. Air Force Reserve and NOAA, fly directly into storms to gather real-time measurements of wind speed, pressure, temperature, and humidity, improving the accuracy of forecasting models.
Communication during hurricane season is critical, and the National Hurricane Center issues specific alerts to help the public understand when and how to act. A hurricane or tropical storm watch means conditions are possible within 48 hours, while a warning signals that those conditions are expected within 36 hours. Storm surge watches and warnings provide similar lead times for life-threatening coastal flooding. In rare cases, an extreme wind warning is issued for imminent Category 3 or higher winds, often associated with a hurricane eyewall.
Finally, the term landfall refers to the moment the storm’s center crosses the shoreline. Importantly, damaging winds, heavy rain, and rising seas typically arrive many hours before landfall itself, underscoring the need for early action.
Hurricane season terms are more than weather jargon; they provide communities with clarity amid uncertainty. They guide evacuation orders, resource allocation, and community-wide emergency plans.
But with storms growing in frequency and intensity, familiarity isn’t enough – Knowledge without action can leave lives and property at risk. Communities must not only understand what these terms mean but also have advanced tools in place to anticipate and respond effectively and in real-time.
The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season has already proven how quickly storms can overwhelm communities. In the face of these extreme weather events, FloodWise has a decisive advantage by forecasting flooding at the street, house, and infrastructure level several days in advance. By uniting real-time rainfall, forecasted precipitation, and coastal surge data within a continuously running platform, FloodWise provides municipalities and emergency managers with the foresight needed to protect lives, safeguard property, and accelerate recovery.
Powered by StormWise, Streamline’s widely accepted hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling software, FloodWise delivers precise, localized insights that turn uncertainty into actionable measures. With this capability, communities can anticipate the depth, location, and duration of flooding, allocate resources effectively, and respond with confidence. In a season marked by rapid intensification and growing risks, FloodWise stands uniquely positioned to help communities minimize losses, recover faster, and build truly lasting resilience.
With a continued shift in climate patterns, it’s clear that storms will continue to test the limits of traditional forecasting and response systems. While understanding the language of storms provides clarity, what communities truly need is the ability to translate that knowledge into action. Storms may be unpredictable, but the way we prepare for and respond to them doesn’t have to be.
FloodWise represents a strategic shift in how municipalities, emergency managers, and flood management teams approach resilience. By forecasting the impacts of flooding several days in advance, FloodWise equips decision-makers with the foresight needed to act proactively, saving lives, protecting infrastructure, and reducing long-term costs.
FloodWise is more than a forecasting system; it is a resilience-building tool that empowers communities to meet today’s challenges and tomorrow’s uncertainties with confidence.
Contact our team today to request a demo and explore how Streamline Technologies can help your community transform forecasts into action and resilience into reality!