The National Hurricane Center in Miami has issued a Gale Warning east of 35W in the Canarias Offshore Zone, forecasting N to NE winds reaching Force 8 and severe gusts between the Canary Islands through February 28, 2026. Additionally, a significant swell event is affecting the Central and Eastern Atlantic with seas between 8 to 14 ft, further impacting Madeira and Canary Islands early next week. Strong trade winds maintain elevated sea conditions across the tropical Atlantic.
February 26, 2026, at 7:03 PM ESTIn the Gulf of America, moderate to fresh SE to S winds continue under Atlantic high pressure, with an incoming cold front expected to diminish these winds and gradually impact the basin through the weekend. High pressure is forecast to rebuild across the region early next week.
For the Caribbean Sea, high pressure north of the area and the Colombian low continue to support fresh to strong trade winds, especially near Colombia, where seas reach 8 to 9 ft. The tropical North Atlantic will experience rough seas and mixed swell conditions through early next week.
The Atlantic Ocean remains under the influence of a 1033 mb high pressure system located west of the Azores, leading to fresh NE to E winds. A surface trough is causing isolated showers near the Bahamas. Rough seas are prevalent south of a line from 31N62W to the Caribbean, with a forecast indicating gradual easing of conditions. A weak front is expected to move off the SE U.S. coast and weaken across the western Atlantic, with the effects diminishing by the end of the forecast period.
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.
