April 9, 2026, at 6:00 AM EDT
Significant swell activity is affecting both the eastern and western Atlantic. In the eastern Atlantic, long-period north swell is creating rough seas with heights reaching 11 to 13 feet. Although this swell is decaying, rough seas will continue east of 50W through Saturday. Similarly, the western Atlantic is experiencing decaying swell generated by earlier NE gales, with seas remaining rough as fresh to strong NE winds persist. Seas are expected to diminish below 12 feet by tonight. More detailed updates are available from the National Hurricane Center's High Seas Forecast.
In the Gulf of America, high pressure is dominating after a dissipated trough, resulting in fresh to strong NE to E winds and rough seas in the northeast Gulf. This weather pattern is causing moderate to fresh winds across the basin, expected to persist into the next week.
The Caribbean is overall calm with trade winds prevailing and no significant weather activity. However, strong high pressure from the western Atlantic is forecasted to increase winds over the south-central Caribbean, bringing strong winds and building seas by the start of next week, especially south of Cuba and in the Windward Passage.
In the Atlantic Ocean, a cold front in the western region has ceased producing gale-force winds, but strong NE winds continue to cause very rough seas with heights up to 15 feet. A mid-level trough along 65W is generating scattered convection. Broad ridging from a high-pressure system near the Azores is causing widespread fresh east winds with strong winds in some zones, leading to rough seas exacerbated by northerly swell. Forecasts suggest the front will weaken, but rough seas will be maintained by large NE swell between Bermuda and the Bahamas into the next week, with another cold front expected by Sunday 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.
