In the early going, 2025's short-lived second named storm seemed tame next to the devastation caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton in the previous season. 

However, less than a week after it formed, Barry's remnants contributed to catastrophic flooding in Texas.

What's happening?

The first month of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season started off relatively quiet, but by the end of June, the second named storm of the season helped fuel a devastating flood in the Hill Country of Texas. Tropical Storm Barry formed on the evening of June 28.

The New York Times posted satellite imagery of the storm, and it noted that information gleaned from pictures taken from more than 22,000 miles above the Earth is helpful for assessing the size and strength of tropical cyclones. 

"The stronger a storm becomes, the more likely an eye will form in the center," the publication observed. "When the eye looks symmetrical, that often means the storm is not encountering anything to weaken it." 

Phrases like "poorly organized" and "quite unimpressive" were used to describe Barry in National Hurricane Center forecast discussions as meteorologists tracked the development of the storm and its landfall in northeastern Mexico.

Even though it might not have appeared to be all that remarkable, Barry ended up taking the lives of at least three people in Mexico. Nearly 15 inches of rain fell in the Los Tuxtlas region of the country. 

Less than a week after making landfall, the remnants of Barry are being blamed in part for the second-deadliest flash flood in Texas history.

Why is Tropical Storm Barry concerning?

The death toll from devastating flooding in central Texas climbed over 100 in less than five days after torrential rains hit the region on July 4. 

The tropical moisture that comprised the remnants of Barry drifted north into the Lone Star State, fueling heavy showers and thunderstorms, which contributed to the catastrophe in Kerr County.

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Our warming world is supercharging extreme weather events.  A report from the nonprofit Climate Central — a group of researchers and climate communicators that studies how our changing climate impacts people's lives — found that our overheating planet intensified every hurricane that developed during last year's Atlantic hurricane season.

ClimateCentral's peer-reviewed research revealed that "human-caused global warming elevated ocean temperatures and boosted all 11 storms' intensities, increasing their highest sustained wind speeds by 9 to 28 miles per hour." 

That boost in wind speed pushed seven of the hurricanes that developed in 2024 into a higher Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale category and also strengthened Hurricanes Oscar and Debby from tropical storm status into full-fledged hurricanes.

What's being done about the impacts of a warming world on tropical cyclones?

A reliance on dirty energy is allowing heat-trapping gases to be released into Earth's atmosphere. Technological advancements coupled with cleaner, renewable energy options — such as geothermal, wind, and solar energy — raise hopes that we can significantly help curb the production of harmful carbon pollution.

Some of the steps we can all take to help will also have the added benefit of lowering our utility bills. Upgrading to LED bulbs, washing clothes in cold water, and unplugging energy vampires will help both your pocketbook and our planet.

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