National Hurricane Center: 2 Tropical Cyclones May Form Over Atlantic

MIAMI, Florida – NOAA‘s National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, issued an updated Tropical Weather Outlook at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, August 9, 2026, as it continues to monitor the potential development of two systems in the tropical Atlantic during the upcoming week.

1. Central Tropical Atlantic: A broad area of showers and thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave is located several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Some gradual development of this system is possible during the early to middle part of this week while it moves westward across the central tropical Atlantic. Upper-level winds are expected to become less conducive for development later in the week when the system approaches the Lesser Antilles. This system has a near 0% chance of tropical cyclone formation within the next 48 hours and a 20% chance within the next 7 days.

2. Eastern and Central Tropical Atlantic: Another tropical wave is expected to move off the west coast of Africa early this week. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for gradual development thereafter, and a tropical depression could form during the latter half of this week while the system moves westward to west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic. This system has a near 0% chance of tropical cyclone formation within the next 48 hours and a 50% chance within the next 7 days.

NHC forecasters say that environmental conditions appear increasingly favorable for the second system, though both remain far from land areas at this time.

If either system develops into a tropical storm or hurricane, the next name on the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane List is Cristobal.

NOAA continues to forecast a “below-normal” 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.

Although peak hurricane season isn’t until September, hurricane and tropical storm activity is possible throughout August and typically increases as the season progresses toward its climatological peak in mid-September, according to NOAA and the National Weather Service‘s historical hurricane activity data.