April 10, 2026, at 5:15 AM EDT
West Atlantic Significant Swell: Strong high pressure over the NW Atlantic is creating a tight pressure gradient, generating strong NE winds and very rough seas north of a stalled cold front from Bermuda to the central Bahamas. Seas of 11 to 14 ft are noted, extending to the east coast of Florida. Conditions will persist for a few hours before improving tonight. Rough seas between Bermuda and the Bahamas will subside below 12 ft by Friday morning but will return Saturday as the pressure gradient tightens again.
Gulf of America: A broad ridge and high pressure support strong NE winds, creating rough seas of 6 to 9 ft in the E and north-central Gulf, extending towards Louisiana. Strong NE winds in this area will persist through tonight, with moderate to fresh conditions through early next week. The Straits of Florida will see locally rough seas into next week.
Caribbean Sea: A weak gradient leads to fresh to strong E trades over the south-central Caribbean, with 6 to 8 ft seas. Moderate winds with 3 to 5 ft seas prevail elsewhere. High pressure from the NW Atlantic will increase winds and seas over the south-central Caribbean through the weekend, with fresh to strong NE winds developing south of Cuba and in the Windward Passage by Saturday night.
Atlantic Ocean: A stationary front from Bermuda to Cuba is weakening, with rough seas and strong NE winds north of it, while scatter moderate showers occur north of 24N. High pressure across the Atlantic leads to strong NE trades east of 50W with 8 to 14 ft seas. The front will shift southward and diminish, but large NE swell will maintain rough seas between Bermuda and the Bahamas through next week, with fresh winds returning Saturday night.
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.
