Tropics Terminology: What You Need To Know

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With just a few weeks left in hurricane season, the tropics are still showing signs of life.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has highlighted an area in the western Caribbean for potential development within the next seven days.

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“Environmental conditions appear conducive for some gradual development of this system thereafter, and a tropical depression could form late this week or this weekend while moving slowly westward,” the NHC said in their tropical update.

If a tropical system does form, it is still too early to know where it will go and how strong it will become. Once there is an actual storm, we'll have a much better idea of what will happen next.

T​he next storm in the Atlantic Basin will get the name "Sara".

Be sure to check back often to weather.com and The Weather Channel app for updates on the tropics.

(For even more granular weather data tracking in your area, view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.)

Typical November Tropical Activity

Hurricane season winds down during November, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see storms. This November has already produced Rafael.

In the satellite era – since 1966 – November has produced an average of one storm every one to two years and one hurricane every two to three years.

More often, parts of the Caribbean and Central America have taken hard hits from November hurricanes.

If a storm does develop in November, it's usually in the western Caribbean Sea or either the southwestern or central Atlantic.

This is because environmental factors are better suited for development. Wind shear is normally pretty low, cold fronts usually haven’t made it this far south and water temperatures are still fairly warm. All of these factors can help support storm formation.

J​ennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.