April 18, 2026, at 2:15 PM EDT
A monsoon trough remains primarily over the African Continent, with an ITCZ extending westward, resulting in scattered moderate to isolated strong convection from the Equator to 5N between 10W and 50W.
In the Gulf of America, a surface ridge extends from a high near the Florida Big Bend to near Tampico, Mexico. Gentle to moderate southeast winds with seas of 4 to 5 ft are observed in the western Gulf. The forecast indicates a weakening ridge with gentle to moderate winds today, leading to strong winds with building seas following a cold front moving across the northern Gulf by early week, stalling from Florida Straits to south Texas by late Monday before dissipating mid-week.
The Caribbean Sea experiences widely scattered showers with gentle to moderate east winds and seas of 2 to 4 ft. A weaker pressure gradient will continue to support gentle to moderate winds through midweek. Fresh northeast winds associated with a late-season cold front may develop early next week across the Windward Passage.
In the Atlantic Ocean, a surface trough from 30N71W to the central Bahamas brings patchy showers. A large high pressure near 32N48W influences much of the western and central Atlantic, maintaining light to gentle winds with 3 to 6 ft seas. The forecast predicts a dissipating surface trough today with high pressure building in its place. A cold front will emerge off northeast Florida by Sunday night, bringing fresh to strong winds and building seas as it moves to Bermuda and central Cuba by midweek before stalling.
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.
