The NHC Is Monitoring Two Storms as the Peak of Hurricane Season Nears

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring two separate systems in the Atlantic this week.

The first is a broad area of low pressure off the coast of South Carolina that has about a 30% chance of forming into a storm system over the next week, with development more likely in the latter half of the week.

The second is a larger system that the NHC sees as having a higher chance of forming and potentially impacting travel. According to the NHC’s Tuesday morning update, a tropical wave in the far eastern tropical Atlantic is “currently producing minimal shower activity. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for gradual development during the next few days, and a tropical depression could form late this week or over the weekend.” This system has a 50% chance of forming over the next week. While its direction is “generally west-northwestward,” it’s still too early to tell where it could make landfall.

Additionally, two named storms are currently active. Tropical Storm Dexter, located in the Atlantic, is moving west away from the U.S. East Coast. It is weakening and not expected to impact travel. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Henriette is moving west-northwest toward Hawaii but is also weakening, so the NHC does not expect it to have much of a travel impact, either.

This summer has already been a particularly bad one for weather-related flight cancellations, with some estimates showing an increase of more than 25% over 2024. This could escalate as the worst of hurricane season in the Atlantic is typically from late August through the first couple of weeks in September, when warm sea surface temperatures fuel tropical cyclones.

The NOAA has predicted the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season will be above normal, with a range of 13 to 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher).