The National Hurricane Center reports a Caribbean Gale Warning due to strong easterly trade winds between a subtropical ridge near Bermuda and low pressures in northern South America. Gale-force winds were noted off northern Colombia, with rough seas expected. These conditions will reduce by late morning but are expected to return tonight into Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, several tropical waves are moving across the Atlantic and Caribbean. A tropical wave along 78W is observed with few showers, and another wave along 61W shows no significant convection.
In the Gulf of America, scattered showers continue in the eastern and SW Gulf, influenced by a broad subtropical ridge. Winds and seas are set to improve overnight across the western Gulf, with a weak cold front predicted to move southward across north Florida towards the end of the week. Low pressure could develop along the weakening front, with potential tropical development over the weekend.
In the Caribbean Sea, aside from the central Caribbean, moderate to fresh easterly winds are present south of 20N with an upper-level low enhancing convection across western Cuba. The rest of the tropical Atlantic is dominated by a strong subtropical ridge in the northern Atlantic, supporting fresh to strong winds north of 19N and east of 35W, especially in the Canary Islands region.
For the Atlantic Ocean, a Bermuda High is maintaining moderate to fresh E to SE winds south of 25N through Thursday, with some areas experiencing strong winds. A weak cold front is forecast to enter the NW zones on Friday. Overall, moderate or weaker winds are prevalent across most areas west of 55W.
June 30, 2025, at 5:00 AM 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.