In brief: We’ll be keeping a casual eye on the Gulf late next week or weekend as the potential does exist for some low-end development. However, it’s by no means close to a certainty at this time.
So far this season, including back into May, we’ve seen some hints in the models of potential Gulf development. Yes, the usual suspects have done their usual things. But also, there’s been at least some legitimacy to the overall pattern being unsettled and stormy. One need only look at a satellite image of the Gulf today to see that.
The Gulf has nothing organizing, but it is a bit unsettled. (WeatherFront)
Over the next few days, we’ll see things start to ease up a little in the Gulf before we get a little bit more intrigue later next week. Around Thursday or Friday, we begin to see the outlines of some cyclonic flow around the Yucatan. It appears that this may be the beginnings of a Central American Gyre (CAG) pattern. This is historically a common pathway to get development in the Gulf or near Mexico in June.
The upper air pattern begins to show vorticity pooling around the Yucatan. While the European model (shown here) is a little aggressive, other modeling indicates the potential start of a CAG type pattern later next week. (WeatherFront)
If this happens, you would start watching the Gulf around next weekend. Is there actual model support for a system? Not entirely. I mean, there is, but it’s not exactly stellar at this point. Google’s AI model is very, very lukewarm on any development. The European AIFS ensemble is also fairly lukewarm on things. The classic European ensemble is a little more excited about things (shown here), but even this is like 20% of ensemble members only. And the European ensemble does tend to have a somewhat overly aggressive genesis forecast with these things in my experience.
The European ensemble has about 20 percent of members developing something loosely in the Gulf next weekend-ish. (Weathernerds.org)
Also keep in mind, this time of year, it’s most likely that if something does develop, it would be sloppy, poorly organized, and quite moisture-laden. That means heavy rain would be more of a concern than any sort of wind or surge aspects. At this point, it’s a curiosity worth following into next week to see what happens but nothing anyone needs to get too worked up over.
Indeed, there is a *lot* of moisture on the board around next weekend, with Sunday the 14th looking like it has above normal moisture up and down the East Coast and into the Gulf and Texas. So at the least, we’re looking for rain chances.
Precipitable water anomalies are above normal all over the Eastern U.S. next weekend, indicating above normal moisture and rain chances. (Pivotal Weather)
More to come on all this.
Elsewhere, we’re in good shape with no concerns. Tropical Storm Amanda in the Pacific is no threat to land. A new disturbance is likely to form into a system currently off the coast of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. That could eventually make landfall, but as of now, models are mixed on exactly what that looks like.
(NOAA/NHC)
Another disturbance south of this one may drift into Central America, possibly briefly developing. We expect the East Pacific to be fairly active this season, so this may just be the beginning for that basin.
In brief: Well, here we are. The start of the six-month Atlantic hurricane season. We are cross-posting Eric’s post from Space City Weather (with some minor broad edits for this audience from Matt) yesterday that attempts to give you the information you need about what to expect and how to prepare, without raising your anxiety too much. A little preparation now will go a long way if the worst happens.
Hurricane season forecast
We do not put a whole lot of stock in seasonal hurricane forecasting. It can provide a general sense of what is likely to happen, but there is no precision in the details that matter. For example, what we really want to know is whether there will be a lot of active storms in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, or off the East Coast, not the central Atlantic Ocean. And since we remain a couple of months away from the ‘peak’ of hurricane season we just cannot know these details.
Seasonal forecasts for the Atlantic basin in 2026. Click to enlarge. (Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Colorado State University)
With that said, the general consensus from hurricane season forecasts is that we should see activity levels below normal this year across the Atlantic basin. For example, the average number of named storms is about 14 per season, and this year the most likely range of named storms is between 8 and 14, according to NOAA. The average number of hurricanes is 7, and the expected range is 3 to 6. So this is good news, because fewer storms overall mean fewer “shots on goal” when it comes to striking the coast.
The reason for all of this is that El Niño is has developed, and it will likely continue to strengthen during the key August and September months. This should help to suppress Atlantic storm activity by increasing wind shear. There are other reasons as well, but the takeaway message here is that instead of seeing a blockbuster season, we are likely to see a quieter one. But a quieter season for the entire Atlantic does not mean a quiet season for Texas or Long Island or Florida if one or two storms threaten the coast. So as ever, we will remain vigilant here at The Eyewall.
What you should do to prepare
The most important piece of advice we can give you is to have a plan for what to do if a storm threatens. If you have a plan, then you’ll sleep better and night, and be prepared to put it into action. And this is important, because when a hurricane legitimately does threaten the Houston region, people lose their minds. You don’t want to lose your mind. We have a page on The Eyewall’s website that links to dozens of local preparedness pages on the coast. Use these pages to help build your kit, develop your plan, and determine your evacuation protocols.
And that is critical. The key question you need to decide is under what circumstances you will evacuate. An important factor in all of this is how close you live to the coast. For example, in Houston, the Houston-Galveston Area Council has some excellent resources to help you prepare at this website. Among them is a “zip-zone” map that helps homeowners identify their vulnerability to different levels of storm surge. This is also how evacuations will be called, by zip codes.
Evacuation zones by area: purple (coastal), yellow (A), green (B), and orange (C). (HGAC)
Most other local jurisdictions (many linked above) also have maps such as this. There are other determinants for whether one should evacuate. You run from the water and hide from the wind. So, wind alone is not a consideration for most people. But those winds can frequently lead to extended power outages. If you have someone in your home with a medical condition that requires electricity for support, then you definitely will still want to consider evacuation if a hurricane threatens.
For those planning to stay during most storms, here is an example of a good disaster kit checklist. A lot of this is common sense: what supplies would you need to remain in your home for several days, without power, and without access to outside resources? Also please don’t forget about pets, whether you’re staying or evacuating. It’s also good idea to check on neighbors. One of the only silver linings of a hurricane, I have found, is that it tends to bring neighbors and neighborhoods together.
The climatology of hurricane season, showing the peak from mid-August through mid-October. (NOAA NHC)
A final word. Hurricane season is a long slog, not a sprint. Because of the nature of storms, you don’t need to be at Defcon 1 from June 1 through November 30. Yes, stronger storms can occur sometimes in July, but the main time to watch is August through October. It’s very easy (and understandable!) to get worked up throughout the course of the season, but you need to pace yourself as you would a marathon.
We do this because we love weather and we love ensuring people have good quality information. Seriously, over the last decade Space City Weather has become an important part of the Houston community’s fabric, and we take our responsibilities seriously. The Eyewall has been building a unique audience of its own. We’re here for the long haul and appreciate that our readers are so faithful to the sites.
Eric speaks at Space City Weather’s Fall Day in 2025.
And much we owe to you, the reader. To the extent we have grown, it has been through word of mouth. We have never advertised the sites. Rather, our growth has been entirely by word of mouth, with readers telling others about us, or sharing our activity on social media. We are grateful for that. Thank you!
Social media
As for social media, we do try to reach readers where they are. Here are a list of the places you can find us, and where you can find links to every update we do:
One final thing to note this year: We are trying to do more social media videos. If you follow us on IG or TikTok, you may have periodically seen our forecast videos. We try to do one or two a week at Space City Weather now more regularly to keep people informed. We don’t want to overwhelm you with content, but when something needs to be said, we’ll say it. So be sure and check us out there if you’re a video-first type person.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll have another update this week!
In brief: We have our first tropics themed forecast post of the season today, as heavy rainfall in the Southeast may also have some lower-end tropical entanglement to watch. We also discuss the coverage plan for the season and some other weatherly tidbits.
The Eyewall in 2026
Happy Wednesday. We’re getting closer to hurricane season, which is usually when the pace of our posts increases! My apologies to your inbox. Anyway, our plan for this coming season is much like it has been the last few seasons of The Eyewall: We will post every day or two and more frequently when storms are threatening. There may be times where we have to take a few extra days off, as we’re both navigating life! But as always, all of our posts will be public facing and freely available, and we will keep comments open to all this season. We will continue to post both on Substack and The Eyewall’s website, so readers can pick the source best for them. We certainly would love for you to subscribe to our Substack, as it is our way of being able to send out emailed posts en masse and also offers a way to support our work. Paying members support our work for all, but we will hopefully put at least something together unique for you as well at some point later this year, be it a live chat, AMA, or something else. Your support and generosity are greatly appreciated. With my eventual relocation from Houston to the Northeast, I will also probably be including a few more Northeast Corridor related nuggets in here too.
Severe Weather: Not entirely dormant
We’re actually likely heading into a period of somewhat calmer conditions over the coming days, as severe weather risks focus mostly on localized areas from time to time.
The days 4 to 8 severe weather outlook is rather uneventful. (Pivotal Weather)
Again, that’s not to say severe weather won’t happen. It probably will. It’s May, and we’re heading into June. However, any sort of large scale, significant or long-duration events don’t seem likely to crop up anytime soon. It will be stormy in spots, however, including today in the Mid-Atlantic where a slight risk (level 2/5) is in place.
Today’s severe weather risk includes DC, Richmond, and Delmarva. (NOAA SPC)
Flooding chances: Watching the Southeast
And that dovetails into our flooding conversation. It does look quite wet over the next 7 to 10 days or so in the South.
Forecast rain from the NWS over the next 7 days. (Pivotal Weather)
Texas has seen a good deal of rain over the last 7 to 10 days, and while storms will continue to pester the state at times, the better chances will probably shift into the Panhandle and New Mexico as we go into next week. We’ll probably have to start watching some of the burn scars in New Mexico for flash flooding potential.
However, the Southeast is where the focus will now be for the most heavy rain and flooding potential. Precip over the next 2 weeks is expected to average well above normal in Florida and along the eastern Gulf Coast.
(NWS Jacksonville)
While these areas have been dry, obviously when you start talking about isolated pockets of 4 to 8 inches of rain, even over a 10-to-14-day period, that’s a lot and can lead to flooding risk.
Tropics: Something weak in the Gulf stirring in early June? If you squint.
And that dovetails into our tropics conversation. Hurricane season begins on Monday, if you were not aware. We don’t currently see any real threats at this point. That said, within this funnel of moisture aimed at Florida and the Southeast and Gulf Coast, we may begin to see the risk of a disturbance forming by accident in the Gulf.
A very, very small number of European ensemble members indicate that something could attempt to form within this otherwise rainy pattern in the eastern Gulf over the next 2 weeks. (Google Weather Lab)
What does that mean? We’re heading into June, so we’re not talking about anything aesthetically pleasing or textbook here. Early season systems tend to be weak and sloppy but moisture laden. And they often form in the Gulf. With all this moisture being directed south to north across the Gulf, there will inevitably be a disturbance or two in the flow. When that happens, you may briefly open a window for tropical development. Right now, odds favor that *not* happening, but I just want to plant the seed, a.) because again, to emphasize, early season systems are not usually strong and b.) this is definitely a high moisture pattern capable of producing flooding.
Early June Atlantic tropical activity usually forms in the eastern Gulf, far northwest Caribbean or off the Florida coast. (NOAA NHC)
When could this happen? Later next week or weekend. Based on the map from the European ensemble shown near the top of this section, that seems to be the timeframe we may be looking at. Notably, AI modeling, both from the European Centre and from Google show nothing really.
What should happen, regardless, is a pickup in early season activity in the Eastern Pacific, however. Models hint at some activity there.
The East Pacific is quite warm and should become more hospitable toward tropical development over the next few weeks. (Weathernerds.org)
So, do you need to worry about a Gulf system? No, but you should be monitoring rainfall forecasts over the next 10 days in Florida and along the eastern Gulf Coast. More to come!
In brief: Our 2025 Atlantic hurricane season recap concludes with part 3, taking us from the delicate ballet between Humberto and Imelda through the season finale with Melissa.
It would be tough to separate out Humberto and Imelda, as they were both quite literally intertwined with one another during their life cycles.
Imelda and Humberto about 530 miles apart. (NOAA)
Humberto
Humberto’s life cycle began on September 24th, forming as a tropical storm in the morning. Even early on, it was apparent that Imelda and Humberto may interact with one another at some point during their life cycle.
GFS model forecast from September 24, 2025 showing interaction between Imelda and Humberto. (Weathernerds.org)
About 36 hours after forming, Humberto had become a formidable tropical storm with 70 mph winds. Humberto basically stalled out for about a day and maintained intensity before slowly resuming its track. Once it did this, Humberto exploded, tapping into abnormally warm ocean temperatures and revving up from a strong tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in less than 2 days. The Atlantic subtropics were near record warm for that time of year, meaning Humberto had copious amounts of warm water to feast on. Humberto reached peak intensity on September 27th, settling in around 160 mph for maximum sustained winds.
Hurricane Humberto near peak intensity. (College of DuPage)
Shortly after peaking as a category 5, Humberto underwent an eyewall replacement cycle and began to slowly weaken on the 28th. It dropped to 140 mph before stabilizing and restrengthening to 145 mph on the 29th. After that, Humberto began to weaken quickly. 24 hours after going back up to 145 mph, Humberto had weakened to 80 mph. Humberto turned north, northeast, and east, merging into an upper-level trough and associated cold front by September 30th.
(NOAA NHC)
The GFS and Google Deep Mind’s ensemble performed well during this storm for track, and Google’s Deep Mind, along with consensus aids and the HWRF did well on intensity. The HWRF will often do well with high intensity hurricanes, as it tends to perform best in environments where storms have significant intensification potential.
Imelda
Now, Imelda was a much different animal. Imelda sprung to life officially on the evening of September 27th. Advisories for a potential tropical cyclone had been issued prior to that point given the likelihood of development and proximity to land. By the following afternoon, Imelda got its name. Imelda struck Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas on the morning of the 29th with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. From there, Imelda drifted northward, eventually strengthening into a hurricane on the 30th. It slowed down then as Humberto passed to the east, then picked up speed again, peaking in intensity on October 1st, with winds just above 90 mph. That evening it passed immediately south of Bermuda, impacting the island with strong winds and heavy rain. By the next day, Imelda had become extratropical. Imelda eventually got absorbed into the same general system that absorbed Humberto about 5 days previously by October 3rd or 4th.
Hurricane Imelda’s track. (NOAA NHC)
While Imelda and Humberto didn’t directly interact with one another, Humberto’s influence had a big impact on Imelda’s final track. It also had a big impact on the model guidance forecasting Imelda and how close it would approach the Carolinas and Southeast. Thus, track forecasting suffered a bit during this storm across the board. NHC track forecasting errors still managed to beat the 5-year average between hours 36 and 60. Google Deep Mind’s model did very well overall in terms of track once again. So did the UKMET, which was part of a group of solutions that took Imelda farther east, not right up against the U.S. East Coast.
Before Imelda became a defined tropical system, weather models had a very difficult time resolving whether or not it would track closer to the East Coast or farther out to sea, such as with this European ensemble track forecast from September 27th. (PolarWx.com/Tomer Burg)
Intensity forecasts were generally not as difficult, and the NHC outperformed most model guidance and the 5-year average here. Winds on Bermuda gusted as high as 86 mph. Imelda dumped over 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba while a tropical wave as well. Imelda was a good case study in being cautious about being too aggressive with forecasts before a storm even develops.
Tropical Storm Jerry (October 7-11)
Jerry formed from a tropical wave about 4 days after it exited Africa on October 3rd.
(NOAA NHC)
The wave associated with Jerry booked it west until it developed on the 7th, immediately becoming a tropical storm. Because of Jerry’s forward speed and some wind shear and dry air, it just never was able to get off the ground, despite some aggressive model forecasts at the time. Jerry peaked on the 8th with 65 mph maximum sustained winds and a surface pressure of only 1000 mb. Though Jerry missed the islands to the northeast, the storm still managed to kill one person in Guadeloupe and cause some significant flooding there and in Antigua. As much as 5 to 9 inches of rain fell in some of those islands with wind gusts as high as 67 mph in Guadeloupe. The NHC track forecast for Jerry was outstanding, while the intensity forecast was too strong, owing to the aggressive model guidance early on.
Subtropical Storm Karen (October 9-10)
Karen was a relatively unmemorable storm with the very noteworthy exception of being the farthest north a tropical storm or subtropical storm has formed on record.
(NOAA/NHC)
While many storms have tracked into that part of the ocean, none have had their origin occur that far to the north. As a subtropical entity, Karen only had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, though it was stronger prior to undergoing tropical transition. Rather than regurgitate the technicalities involved in determining why Karen was a subtropical storm and how it came to be, I encourage you to check out the NHC’s post storm analysis on Karen here.
The worst of the season saved itself for last. 2025 ended with Hurricane Melissa, an absolute monster of a storm that shattered records. It tied (Allen 1980) for the strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin with 190 mph maximum sustained winds. Maximum sustained winds at landfall of 185 mph tied Dorian in 2019 and the Labor Day 1935 storm for strongest landfall on record in the Atlantic. The 892 mb minimum central pressure was only beaten out by Wilma in 2005 (882 mb) and Gilbert in 1988 (888 mb) for deepest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic. A dropsonde observation from a hurricane hunter mission into Melissa measured an instantaneous wind speed of 219 kts (252 mph), which is the highest wind speed ever measured globally by that type of equipment.
(NOAA/NHC)
Melissa was captured in the models well in advance of development as a potential threat, noted prior to October 13th. It was tough to take it super seriously initially, as modeling had been flagging that area for many days prior to Melissa being a thought. It was really around October 17th or so when things got pretty serious looking. And it only escalated from there.
Much ink has been spilled on Melissa over the last several months, as it relates to preparedness, communication, climate change, you name it. There’s no real sense in going off the deep end here with things, but I strongly encourage you to read the NHC’s report in full, as it contains a multitude of valuable information, imagery, and insight. I will just note that forecast-wise this was a tremendous success for the National Hurricane Center, which beat virtually every model at almost every lead time on both track and intensity. The exceptions were a few models that beat NHC on day 5 intensity errors and Google Deep Mind, which had a slightly better track forecast across the board. Google’s model was a revelation this past hurricane season, and there will be high expectations for its performance in 2026.
I’ll end it with some editorial comments. It’s a testament to Jamaica’s preparedness and resilience that the total death toll from this storm (officially) still lags 100 people. There was some commentary from folks in Jamaica on social media lambasting some meteorologists for overhyping the storm. And when you think about that, it’s almost laughable to think that you could possibly overhype one of the largest storms in modern history. But Jamaicans are not ill-prepared for hurricanes, and there was an element of patronization in some of the posts and comments ahead of Melissa that because Jamaica is a Caribbean nation it must not be ready to handle a storm. Quite frankly, while not as excessive as some others, I was guilty of expressing some serious concern of the impending doom variety rather than the healthy concern one should have when a category 5 storm is looming. None of this is to minimize that this was a legitimate catastrophe for the country. It caused over $8 billion in damage after all. But the air of condescension was evident. We could all learn some lessons from Jamaica for how to prepare and harden our communities for hurricanes.
2025 would have been a footnote in the history of Atlantic hurricanes for the most part had Melissa not occurred. It’s a sobering reminder that even in relatively quiet seasons, bad storms can happen. This is why we advocate preparing every hurricane season as if it is “the one.”
