March 25, 2026, at 5:00 AM EDT
The Gulf of America is experiencing moderate east winds and seas of 2 to 4 feet, particularly north of a stationary front extending from Fort Myers, Florida, to Leeville, Louisiana, and within the Bay of Campeche. The stationary front is expected to dissipate, with weak high pressure moving over the northeast Gulf, while a trough over the Bay of Campeche will result in moderate to fresh nocturnal winds off the northern and western Yucatan Peninsula. A new cold front is anticipated to enter the northern Gulf on Saturday morning, progressing to the southeast Gulf by Sunday, bringing fresh to strong winds and rough seas.
In the Caribbean Sea, a surface trough between 15N80W and 19N85W is producing scattered moderate convection near the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. Fresh to locally strong east winds are seen in this area along with moderate to rough seas. Through the forecast period, high pressure north of the area combined with the Colombian low will maintain fresh to strong trade winds. By next week, strong northeast winds and increasing seas are predicted for areas such as the lee side of Cuba, the Windward Passage, and south of Hispaniola.
The Atlantic Ocean station front extends from 31N63W to near Stuart, Florida, with associated moderate convection. Fresh northeast to east winds and rough seas are observed north of this boundary. For the wider Atlantic, moderate or weaker winds with moderate seas prevail due to a weak pressure gradient, except near a weakened low pressure south of the Canary Islands, causing fresh to strong north to northeast winds and rough seas. Another cold front is expected offshore northeast Florida by Saturday morning, extending from 31N65W to central Florida by Saturday night and from 31N60W to southeast Florida by Sunday morning, accompanied by strong to near-gale force winds and turbulent seas.
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.
