April 10, 2026, at 2:15 PM EDT
The monsoon trough is mainly over Africa, while the ITCZ extends from Sierra Leone to Brazil. Moderate convection is observed around the ITCZ.
In the Gulf of America, a strong eastern U.S. ridge is causing moderate to fresh easterly winds and 5-8 ft seas in the north, with lighter winds in the south. A few showers are noted near Texas, with generally dry weather elsewhere. Strong northeast winds and rough seas are expected in the northeast Gulf today, with moderate to fresh winds prevailing elsewhere through the next week. Occasional strong winds are expected near western Cuba and the northwest Yucatan. Scattered Gulf showers and thunderstorms may persist today.
In the Caribbean Sea, fresh to strong easterly trade winds lead to 6-9 ft seas in the south-central region, while moderate winds and moderate seas are elsewhere. No significant convection is seen, but isolated showers occur in the eastern and central areas. Strong high pressure will increase winds and seas over the basin through early next week, particularly strong in the south-central Caribbean and near Cuba, the Windward Passage, and Hispaniola starting Saturday night.
In the Atlantic Ocean, a cold front moves from near Bermuda to eastern Cuba, causing scattered showers and strong NE winds behind it, with strong southerly winds ahead. Strong trade winds are present in the central and eastern Atlantic, with 8-12 ft seas. The front-ridge pressure gradient will maintain strong winds through tonight, with rough swells lingering into next week. Strong NE winds are expected to persist through early next week as pressure gradients tighten.
The 2026 Hurricane season starts on June 1, 2026 in
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.
Designed in Florida by
"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.
