April 18, 2026, at 6:15 AM EDT
The monsoon trough and ITCZ are producing scattered moderate convection in the Atlantic, with the monsoon trough entering near 13N17W and the ITCZ continuing to 00N48W.
In the Gulf of America, a high pressure ridge near Florida's Big Bend extends to south of Tampico, Mexico, resulting in moderate to fresh southeast winds and 4 to 6 ft seas in the western basin. Light to gentle winds are observed in the eastern Gulf, with moderate winds near western Cuba and the Straits of Florida. The ridge will gradually weaken, maintaining gentle to moderate winds until a cold front brings fresh to strong winds by late Saturday and stalls by mid-week.
The Caribbean Sea experiences an unsettled weather pattern due to a mid to upper-level trough affecting the eastern Caribbean. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected east of 67W through the weekend. Trade winds are moderate to fresh in the east with 3 to 5 ft seas, while the rest of the basin has gentle winds and 2 to 4 ft seas. A surface trough moving west will weaken by Saturday, with fresh NE winds developing next week across the Windward Passage.
In the Atlantic Ocean, a surface trough extends from 28N73W to eastern Cuba. The pressure gradient due to high pressure north of 32N48W leads to light to gentle winds north of 25N between 35W and the Florida coast, with seas of 4 to 6 ft. Moderate to fresh winds with 6 to 8 ft seas are present in the rest of the basin. The trough will dissipate by Saturday, allowing high pressure to build. A cold front off northeast Florida is anticipated to bring fresh to strong winds and increase seas, moving to Bermuda and the Florida Straits by late Monday before stalling and dissipating mid-week.
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.
