The tropical weather discussion covers various regions including North America, Central America, the Gulf of America, the Caribbean Sea, northern sections of South America, and the Atlantic Ocean to the African coast. Several tropical waves are being monitored in the Eastern and Central Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. One of the Eastern Atlantic waves has a medium chance for tropical development within the next seven days, although its development may be hindered by dry and stable air.
In the Gulf of America, a stationary front is causing showers and thunderstorms west of 91W, while a weak high-pressure system influences light to moderate winds with seas ranging from 2 to 4 feet. Over the weekend, the stationary front is expected to weaken, with moderate to locally fresh winds prevailing in parts of the region.
For the Caribbean Sea, moderate winds prevail, and moderate trades are expected through early next week, with gentle breezes in the northwest Caribbean. A shift to moderate to fresh trades is anticipated in the south-central Caribbean and along the coast of Colombia as a ridge builds behind a tropical wave.
In the Atlantic Ocean, a stationary front extends across the region causing fresh winds and significant waves. Scattered moderate and isolated strong convection is seen amid high pressure dominating other parts of the Atlantic. Moderate winds and seas are expected to continue through mid-week, except for temporarily higher winds and seas in areas affected by the stationary front and low pressure near the Bahamas.
September 13, 2025, at 4:15 PM EDTThe 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.
