AccuWeather Forecasts Three to Five Atlantic Basin Storms in August

Hurricane experts at AccuWeather say conditions conducive for tropical storm development and an uptick in tropical wave activity will likely lead to three to five Atlantic Basin storms forming in the next two weeks.

In a recent media advisory, AccuWeather said those experts are monitoring four areas at risk of tropical development potential in the Atlantic basin: a low-risk area in the Gulf, a second off the East Coast of the United States, a medium-risk area in the Atlantic and a high-risk area in the Atlantic.

AccuWeather reported that Tropical Storm Dexter is the lone named storm in the Atlantic so far this month. Erin will likely follow by early this week, and Fernand would likely become the name of the next wave coming off the coast of Africa, explained Chad Merrill, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.

“A large plume of dust is moving off the African coast late this week,” Merrill said in the advisory, which was issued on Aug. 8. “That dust plume will traverse the main development area of the Atlantic, where development is expected to occur through the middle of the week. Beyond the middle of next week, the dust train drops off significantly. We see an eventual favorable environment for thunderstorm clusters coming off the coast of Africa. The timeline for any potential impact to the Caribbean or the U.S. is Aug. 17 to 22.”

Merrill said the area with a high risk of tropical development potential in the Atlantic is not expected to pose a direct threat to the U.S. He explained that while there is a high potential for low pressure to become a tropical depression or tropical storm in the central Atlantic, “there appears to be no direct threat to the U.S. from this low pressure, as it will get caught in the main steering flow of the jet stream and recurve somewhere near or east of Bermuda.”

Four named storms typically form in the Atlantic basin during the month of August.

AccuWeather 2025 U.S. Atlantic Forecast

The media release shared that AccuWeather experts predict a dynamic and potentially volatile “above-average” Atlantic hurricane season this year, similar to 2024’s historic and destructive season.

The AccuWeather 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast predicts 13 to 18 named storms, including seven to 10 hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes that reach Category 3 strength or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. (A Category 3 hurricane has sustained winds between 111 mph and 129 mph.)

AccuWeather forecasts three to six direct impacts to the U.S. this year, which is the same range AccuWeather forecast for last year’s historic Atlantic hurricane season.