Caribbean Hurricane Network

Active Tropical Systems: None!
Atlantic Hurricane Season is from June 1 - November 30

GOES Satellite - Zoomed in on the Caribbean (00:20 UTC, 11 minutes ago)
Scale bar (lower right) is 250 miles. [more satellite imagery].
See storm-centered satellite image and loop in the tools section below (if available)

Monday, June 1, 2026 07:31AM PDT - New season

We in the Caribbean know what day it is, official start of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The forecasts by NOAA, Colorado State and Tropical Storm Risk all point to a below normal hurricane season, with 8-14 tropical storms, of which 3-6 are forecasted to become hurricane, and 1-3 Category 3+ storms for NOAA, 13, 6 and 2, resp., for Colorado State and 11, 4 and 1 for Tropical Storm Risk. The average for 1991-2020 is 14.4, 7.4 and 3.2. Main reasons for the below normal activity are that although ocean temperature is expected to be above normal in the Atlantic, providing more energy for storm development, the upcoming super El Niño should more than cancel that out. El Niño's cause higher vertical wind shear which impedes development and strengthening.

Below the names and pronunciations of this year's players. The list is repeated every 6 years, but new names are introduced if the storm was very deadly or costly. There were 3 names from the record breaking 2020 season with 30 storms (!) retired, Laura, and the Greek letter-storms Eta and Iota. During this covid year, Laura went over the northern islands as a tropical storm and finally made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Lousiana. Back to back storms Eta and Iota both made landfall as a Category 4 along the Miskito Coast in Nicaragua. Covid for sure did not help with the recovery effort in Central America. Eta and Iota are not replaced, since the WMO are not using Greek letters anymore when we run out of names, but a separate list.

Name         Pronunciation       Name         Pronunciation
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur       AR-thur             Leah         LEE-ah
Bertha       BUR-thuh            Marco        MAR-koe
Cristobal    krees-TOH-bahl      Nana         NA-na
Dolly        DAH-lee             Omar         OH-mar
Edouard      eh-DWARD            Paulette     pawl-LET
Fay          fay                 Rene         re-NAY
Gonzalo      gohn-SAH-loh        Sally        SAL-ee
Hanna        HAN-uh              Teddy        TEHD-ee
Isaias       ees-ah-EE-ahs       Vicky        VIH-kee
Josephine    JOH-seh-feen        Wilfred      WILL-fred
Kyle         KY-ull

Let's hope that it will be indeed a below normal season, but we all know, one big one hitting your island will spoil the whole season for you. Best to start preparations now, check your hurricane shutters if you have, emergency food/battery supplies, etc. You know the drill.

This is year 31 that we are covering the storms for you on the islands! I made the website all ready for the next season, which involves quite a lot of file moves, etc. The big change this year is that thanks to a generous donor from St.John, I decided to get rid of the Google Ads. They were ugly and didn't bring up that much money anyway. The only ad is for Gobeach Vacations, without them this website would never have existed. Donations are still needed of course, you can donate with credit card, PayPal, Venmo and Stripe. Stay safe everybody this season. Don't do stupid things! -Gert

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 09:48AM EDT - Upcoming 2026 Atlantic season

Good morning!

Hope all is well as can be with you.

It's that time of year already for the start of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season. (June 1st). While storms can and have formed before June 1st, this is the official start date.

May 15th meanwhile, is the official start of the Eastern Pacific season which, due to the Super El Nino, is expected to be highly active as well as the Northern Pacific.

That same Super El Nino is expected to contribute to the decline in the number of storms in the Atlantic this coming season. Do not let that contribute to complacency on your part as it only takes one, no matter how many form. Steering currents, along with wind shear appearances will play a major role as will our annual Saharan Dust multi month invasion from the African continent.

Warmer than normal SST's have, at times, negated some of the effects of El Nino's so time will tell how this season will evolve. Regardless, it's time to get your preparations in order, check your remaining supplies and see what is out of date and/or missing and replace. Don't forget your pets as well as they are family too. Test your generator if you have one and plot an evacuation route in the event you have too. Do these things before anything approaches as you will have a lot on your mind if and when the time comes.

The Gulf of Mexico (or America if you wish), unfortunately looks ripe for the picking this season with the much warmer, deeper waters increasing the possibility of rapid intensification close to landfall.

Well that's it for the moment. Let's all pray and keep our fingers crossed again as we do every year.

Stay safe, prepared and vigilant.

Dave

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 15:39PM PDT - Category 4 typhoon hits U.S. Northern Mariana Islands

Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific (luckily not Atlantic) barreled through the Northern Mariana islands, with the eye moving over Saipan and Tinian. On Monday it was still a Category 5, but luckily it weakened to a Category 4 storm yesterday. A more detailed discussion can be found on the Eye on the Storm-blog (Yale Climate Connections). I copied the scary picture below from that blog as well. Hopefully we won't see something like this in the Atlantic this year! But just a reminder of what could happen. -Gert

Saipan and Tinian caught in the eye [source: Eye on the Storm]

Thursday, April 9, 2026 09:43AM PDT - Below average hurricane season?

Today the first hurricane forecast for the 2026 season was published by Klotzbach et al. at Colorado State University. They predict a slightly below average hurricane season with 13 named storms (14.4 is normal), 6 hurricanes (7.2 is normal) of which 2 might become major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher, 3.2 is normal). The Accumulated Cyclone Energy Index is estimated at 90 (123 is normal). This index measures the combined strength and duration of all storms in a season. The probability for at least one major hurricane traveling through the Caribbean (a large area) is 35% (47% is normal).

The main suppressing factor playing this season is the development of a possibly super El Nino later this season (see for example this Eye on the Storm blog post by Henson and Masters, Yale Climate Connections). An El Nino usually suppresses hurricane formation due to stronger vertical wind shear and lower humidity in the atmosphere. The forecast could have been even lower if it wasn't for the above average sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic (although temperatures are a bit cooler in the eastern tropical Atlantic (closer to Africa) due to stronger than normal trade winds). In 2023 we had a similar battle between El Nino and high sea surface temperatures. Unfortunately climate change won that year. Hopefully this year El Nino will win out.

Below I summarized the probability of at least one major hurricane moving within 50 miles for the Caribbean islands, compared to the long term average (1880-2020). Full list, incl. US States can be found here. Note that these probabilities are heavily biased by island/region area, for example the Bahamas, being a large region, will have a higher chance of a direct hit. Even though your probability is low, it doesn't mean you are out of the woods. Remember in 2024, Grenada had only 1% probability, but it did get hit that year with monster storm Beryl. So even if your chances are low, there is still a chance!

Tropical Storm Risk (EuroTempest) just came out with their forecast as well. That one looks even better. They expect a well below (40%) average season with 12 named storms, 5 hurricanes and just one major hurricane. They base it on the same factors, strong El Nino and near average sea surface temperatures. NOAA's forecast is expected late May. Also, please note that these early forecasts are not very reliable, so don't place too much trust in them.

Right now not much is going on. But we know storms will come each year. Now is a good time to get ready! Check your hurricane shutters, buy some extra canned food and water, etc. You know what to do, it is not your first time! Stay safe! -Gert

Probability of a major hurricane traveling within 50 miles

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