Hurricane center still tracking 1 Atlantic system, but drops development chances

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 26, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Wednesday was back to tracking just one Atlantic system, but also dropped its chances that it could develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, the area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave, dubbed Invest 96L, was located in the eastern tropical Atlantic a few hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

“Showers and thunderstorms associated with this system remain disorganized. Environmental conditions are somewhat favorable for development over the next couple of days, and a tropical depression could form over the next day or two as the system moves westward to west-northwestward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic,” forecasters said. “Environmental conditions are forecast to become less favorable by this weekend, potentially ending its chances for development.”

The NHC gave it a 60% chance to develop in the next two to seven days, down from 70% that had been forecast on Tuesday.

A second system that had also been forecast to potentially form in the central subtropical Atlantic a few hundred miles northeast of Bermuda had moved into waters that no longer support development.

The NHC dropped to 0% chances it could form and are no longer tracking it.

So far the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, has been slow with only three named systems: Tropical storms Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal.

The next name on the list is Dolly.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this month updated its seasonal forecast and now expects between seven and 13 named storms this year. Of those, two to six would become hurricanes. It also predicted that there might not be any major hurricanes this year, or at most two.

Already, 2026 was forecast to have lower-than-average storm generation, and that has been reduced even further with the latest forecasts from the NOAA and other weather groups.

An average year would see 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, with three of those growing to Category 3 strength or higher.

The height of hurricane season runs from mid-August through mid-October.

--------------