Tropical cyclone likely to form in Atlantic amid unusually quiet hurricane season

Forecasters are tracking a tropical system in the eastern Atlantic that has a high chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next week, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The system is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms as it moves west-northwest across the Atlantic, off the coast of West Africa, the NHC said Sunday. While dry air is expected to limit development in the short term, conditions are expected to become more favorable by midweek.

The NHC gives the disturbance a 20% chance of formation within 48 hours and a 70% chance within seven days.

If it strengthens, the storm would be named Gabrielle, the next on this year’s Atlantic list.

So far, the 2025 season has produced six tropical cyclones, including Hurricane Erin, which briefly reached Category 5 strength but did not make landfall. Meteorologists note that despite Erin’s intensity, the season has been unusually quiet during its peak.

Tony Brite, a meteorologist, said this is the first time in 31 years that the Atlantic has gone through the peak weeks without producing a single hurricane. On average, the basin’s second hurricane forms by mid-August, making this year’s slowdown “historic and highly unusual.”

The Atlantic hurricane season runs through November 30.