Hurricane season’s small business impact extends far beyond coastal regions, especially in 2025. If you’re running a small business in the Midwest, you might think hurricane forecasts don’t concern you. After all, we’re hundreds of miles from any coastline. But NOAA’s 2025 forecast predicting a 60% chance of an above-normal hurricane season with 13-19 named storms should absolutely be on your radar, especially when combined with the unprecedented tariff disruptions already reshaping supply chains.
Here’s why the hurricane season small business impact extends far beyond coastal regions, and what smart business owners are doing about it.
The Hidden Reality: Why Hurricane Season Reaches the Heartland
Hurricanes can devastate all types of companies, causing property damage, disrupting supply chains, and leading to lost revenue, even for businesses that never see a drop of storm rain. When Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, it temporarily shut down mining operations in Spruce Pine, disrupting the global supply of high-purity quartz essential for chip manufacturing.
That single storm created ripple effects that touched everything from smartphones to automotive electronics, products that likely sit in your supply chain or on your shelves.
The 2025 Perfect Storm: Hurricanes Meet Tariffs
This year presents a unique challenge. While we’re facing an active hurricane season, businesses are simultaneously dealing with tariffs that have increased costs by an average of nearly $1,200 per household and disrupted established supply chains. Supply chain experts warn that three major forces (potential trade wars, climate change, and geopolitical conflicts) are converging to create what could be a perfect storm for supply chain managers in 2025.
Five Critical Ways This Hurricane Season (And It’s Small Business Impact) Could Hit Your Bottom Line
Supply Chain Delays Will Compound Tariff Disruptions
Your suppliers are already scrambling to adapt to new tariff structures. Furniture producers in China have seen a complete halt in orders from U.S. importers, with the same happening across toys, apparel, footwear, and sports equipment. Add hurricane-related port closures and freight reroutes, and even diversified supply chains face serious vulnerabilities.
Action Step: Audit your entire supply chain now. If you’ve moved sourcing away from China due to tariffs, ensure your new suppliers have robust hurricane contingency plans.
Fuel Price Volatility Hits Already-Strained Budgets
When Gulf Coast refineries take a hit during hurricane season, everyone pays more at the pump. For small businesses already absorbing tariff-related cost increases, fuel price spikes create a dangerous squeeze on margins.
Action Step: Build fuel cost escalation clauses into service contracts and consider temporary surcharges during active storm periods.
Insurance Markets Tighten After Record Losses
Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused more than $37 billion in insured losses in 2024, and insurers are collectively facing more than $50 billion in losses from the Los Angeles wildfires. Combined with economic uncertainties from tariff policies, insurance companies are reassessing risk everywhere, including the Midwest.
Action Step: Review your business interruption coverage and supply chain clauses. Ask specifically about indirect weather-related coverage for supplier disruptions.
Inventory Management Becomes Critical
The combination of tariff-driven stockpiling and potential hurricane disruptions creates a complex inventory challenge. Late 2024 saw warehousing occupancy rates in key U.S. ports like Los Angeles and Houston nearing 95%, and adding more stock to an already saturated market could drive up storage costs.
Action Step: Develop scenario-based inventory strategies. Can you temporarily increase stock of critical items while maintaining cash flow flexibility?
Regional Economic Impacts Extend Nationwide
Hurricane impacts can reach far inland, with Hurricane Beryl spawning more than 60 tornadoes along its nearly 1,200-mile path from the Texas coast to upstate New York. For small businesses, this means customer spending patterns can shift even in unaffected areas as economic confidence wavers.
Action Step: Diversify your customer base geographically and consider how you can serve customers in affected regions during recovery periods.
Building Resilience: Your Hurricane Season Small Business Impact Action Plan
Immediate Steps (Do This Week)
- Document Your Supply Chain: Map every supplier, especially those routing through Gulf Coast ports or regions with hurricane season small business impact vulnerability.
- Stress-Test Your Cash Flow: Model scenarios where both tariff costs and hurricane-related delays hit simultaneously.
- Update Emergency Contacts: Ensure you have direct lines to key suppliers’ emergency management teams.
Strategic Preparation (Next 30 Days)
- Supplier Diversification: As tariffs disrupt established supply chains, businesses are increasingly exploring alternative sourcing strategies. Use this necessity to build geographic redundancy.
- Communication Planning: Develop templates for customer communication during supply disruptions. Transparency builds loyalty during tough times.
- Technology Deployment: Implement advanced technology solutions that can predict and respond to potential disruptions before they cause significant impact.
The Leadership Opportunity in Crisis
While others react to the hurricane season and its small business impact, forward-thinking businesses are finding opportunities. Consider partnering with affected coastal businesses to provide inland fulfillment, offering supply chain consultancy to peers, or developing specialized services for businesses navigating both tariff and weather disruptions.
Final Thoughts: Preparation Creates Competitive Advantage
The convergence of an active hurricane season with ongoing tariff disruptions isn’t just a challenge, it’s a chance to build competitive advantages through superior preparation and resilience planning.
Smart small business owners recognize that small business impact of hurricane season extends far beyond wind and rain. It’s about supply chain intelligence, financial flexibility, and the ability to serve customers even when traditional systems fail.
The businesses that thrive in 2025 won’t be those that avoid disruption. They’ll be the ones prepared to navigate it successfully.
Ready to hurricane-proof your small-business? Let’s chat about your current state and where you’d like to see yourself. No pitch, just a few actionable steps you can implement this week to protect your supply chain and cash flow. Book a call here.
Or, do you just want to identify areas where you might already be seeing friction in your business. Download the Finding Friction Quiz here.
For other articles, check out:
If Everything is a Priority, Nothing Is: Business Prioritization Simplified
Why Small Business Direction Mistakes Cost More
How STUPID Goal Setting Tripled My Productivity
Sources and Citations
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2025, May 22). NOAA predicts above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Retrieved from https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2025-atlantic-hurricane-season
- CNBC. (2025, May 22). Insurers brace for impact with above-average hurricane season forecast. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/22/noaa-hurricane-season-insurance.html
- AccuWeather For Business. (2024, August 30). Understanding hurricanes’ economic impact on your business. Retrieved from https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/understanding-hurricanes-economic-impact-on-your-business/1678006
- Tax Foundation. (2025, May 27). Trump Tariffs: The Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War. Retrieved from https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/
- CNBC. (2025, April 13). Trump tariffs on China will soon bring ‘irreversible’ damage to many American businesses. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/12/trump-tariffs-on-china-mean-irreversible-damage-for-most-businesses.html
- Solutions Review. (2025, March 17). Supply Chain Disruption 2025: A Perfect Storm Looms. Retrieved from https://solutionsreview.com/enterprise-resource-planning/supply-chain-disruption-2025-a-perfect-storm-looms/
- Sensos. (2025, February 24). What Do 2025 Tariffs Mean for Your Supply Chain? Retrieved from https://sensos.io/resources/optimization-efficiency/what-do-2025-tariffs-mean-for-your-supply-chain/
Author’s Note: Parts of this article were researched, drafted, and enhanced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT and Claude. All information has been reviewed and edited by the author for accuracy, tone, and clarity. The use of AI supports the creative process, but the ideas, perspectives, and final voice are entirely my own.