Hurricane season maps tracker: latest forecasts and more
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We have the maps you need to monitor the tropics, including a new area of interest in the Gulf, Nolo and Rachel.

Caitlin KaiserJonathan  Belles
ByCaitlin KaiserandJonathan Belles•
1 hour agoUpdated: October 4, 2026, 2:56 pm EDTPublished: October 4, 2026, 6:00 am EDT
DCT 13

Hurricane season remains active in the Pacific, with hurricanes Nolo and Rachel while a new area to watch has emerged in the Atlantic.

We have the maps you need to track all these systems below, starting with the Atlantic side.

Tracking the Atlantic

There is a new area of interest in the Gulf, that could develop into a tropical system later this week.

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(MORE: Potential development in Gulf by mid-October?)

Sea surface temperatures

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Wind shear

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These are areas of strong wind shear, the difference in wind speed and direction with height, which are shown in purple. High wind shear is hostile to mature tropical cyclones and those trying to develop.

(MORE: What is wind shear?)

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Dry, dusty air

Another nemesis of tropical systems is dry air.

In hurricane season, plumes of dust-laden air stream across the basin from Africa's Sahara Desert, as you can see in the map below. This sinking, dry air squelches thunderstorm development, the building blocks of tropical storms and hurricanes.

So areas in the brown shading below are generally unfavorable for development.

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Atlantic tracks so far this season

These are the tracks of systems that were at least tropical or subtropical storms, so far in the Atlantic Basin.

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Tracking the Pacific

Hurricane Nolo

(MORE: Why Hurricane Nolo could become a typhoon this weekend)

Pac Storm Track 5

Hurricane Rachel

Pacific Storm Info 4

Sea surface temperatures

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Pacific tracks so far this season

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Season activity compared to average

Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE, is a metric that measures the total energy produced by tropical storms and hurricanes over a given period, accounting for both how strong they were and how long they lasted.

It's another measure meteorologists use to gauge how active a hurricane season has been.

As you can see below, it has been a historically quiet Atlantic season, while the Pacific — especially the Eastern Pacific — has been much more active than usual.

(MORE: Complete El Niño coverage)

ACE

Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE, is a metric that measures total energy produced by tropical storms and hurricanes over a given period, accounting for both how strong they were and how long they lasted.

(Data: Phil Klotzbach/CSU)

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