July 30, 2025, at 5:00 AM EDT
A tropical wave is moving westward across the eastern Atlantic along 29W with moderate convection observed between 28W and 32W. Another wave is in the central Atlantic at 45W without significant convection. In the central Caribbean, a wave at 72W shows no significant activity, whereas another wave at 82W features scattered moderate convection.
The monsoon trough in the Atlantic stretches from the coast of Mauritania to 09N48W, with moderate convection noted between 35W and 45W. In the Gulf of America, showers and storms are present off the northern coast, near Florida to Louisiana, and southwest Gulf near Yucatan. Light winds and slight seas dominate, except near storms where stronger winds and higher seas occur.
In the Caribbean, thunderstorms are active along the monsoon trough from Panama to southeast Nicaragua, with additional activity near Jamaica and eastern Cuba. Fresh to strong trade winds dominate the central Caribbean, with moderate seas, while light winds and slight seas are elsewhere. A tropical wave will move from the Atlantic into the Caribbean, bringing showers and storms over the weekend.
The Atlantic Ocean features a surface trough with a low near 25N65W, and high pressure near the Azores influencing moderate winds and seas. High pressure west of 55W ensures gentle winds and smooth seas, with a tropical wave possibly bringing stronger winds near the Leeward Islands later in the week.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecasted an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season for 2025.
Named Storms: 13 to 19
Hurricanes: 6 to 10
Major Hurricanes (Category 3 or higher): 3 to 5
Accumulate Cyclone Energy (ACE): 95% to 180% of the median
This forecast indicates a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season, and a 10% chance of a below-normal season.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30Key: Active Past Future
*Press/click the storm name to view additional details2020 - 30 named storms, 14 hurricanes
Hurricane Katrina (2005) - $125 billion
Harvey (2017) - $125 billion
Hurricane Patricia (2015) - 215 mph (345 km/h)
Hurricane Allen (1980) - 190 mph (305 km/h)
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating system that classifies hurricanes based on their sustained wind speeds and the potential damage they can cause. It helps communicate the intensity of hurricanes and the likely impacts on structures and environments. The scale does not account for factors like storm surge or rainfall, focusing only on wind speeds.
Watching the Tropics was originally built as a personal storm tracker with only the most important charts for the Atlantic hurricane basin. Numerous sites are available for tracking hurricanes, but Watching the Tropics minimizes extra "noise" and shows only what you need.
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"Watching the tropics" refers to monitoring tropical weather systems, such as tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes, in regions close to the equator. Meteorologists and weather enthusiasts often use this phrase during hurricane season to indicate that they're keeping an eye on developing weather systems that could potentially strengthen and impact areas like the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean.
Websites, news outlets, or weather services also use "Tropics Watch" to keep the public informed about the latest developments in the tropics, especially during peak hurricane season.
An "invest" refers to an area of disturbed weather that meteorologists are investigating for potential tropical development. The term "invest" is short for "investigation area."
When an area is designated as an invest, it is given a number (between 90 and 99) followed by the letter "L" for systems in the North Atlantic or "E" for systems in the Eastern Pacific. For example, "Invest 91L" would refer to the 91st area of interest in the Atlantic basin for that season.
The designation of an invest allows meteorologists to focus their resources on a specific area, utilize specialized forecasting models, and issue updates as needed.
A tropical depression is a type of tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of less than 39 mph (34 knots or 63 km/h).
Key characteristics:
It's the first stage of development in the tropical cyclone classification used by the National Hurricane Center, followed by tropical storm and then hurricane.