Tropical Weather Discussion from the NWS National Hurricane Center in Miami highlights a strong cold front moving into the waters offshore of northeast Florida. This front is expected to generate gale-force winds and rough seas across the Western Atlantic, stretching from 31N60W to Southeast Florida by Sunday morning, eventually dissipating over the Southeast waters by Tuesday. High seas and winds reaching 15 ft are anticipated, with the strongest conditions occurring behind the front.
In the Gulf of America, a cold front extends from Cedar Key, FL, to just south of Brownsville, TX. Fresh to strong northeasterly winds and moderate seas are present behind the front. The front will progress, moving southeast of the basin by Sunday, carrying fresh to strong winds mainly over the Northern and Eastern Gulf regions.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean Sea, a pressure gradient is maintaining fresh to strong northeast to east winds especially off the Colombian coast, with seas ranging from 5 to 8 ft. Similar conditions will persist offshore Colombia into early next week. The approaching cold front in the Western Atlantic will enhance NE to E winds and seas in areas like the Windward Passage and south of Hispaniola through Tuesday night.
Over the Atlantic Ocean, a strong cold front is now entering the area, causing scattered moderate convection. A surface ridge dominates the central and eastern Atlantic regions with moderate to fresh winds and seas. Forecast information indicates strong to gale-force winds and high seas will continue to affect the region until early next week, with high pressure post-front sustaining the conditions.
March 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM EDTThe 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.
