No storms to track in the Atlantic now? Here’s where they can form this time of year

All is quiet in the tropics this week, with the National Hurricane Center’s map clear of potential systems in the Atlantic.

And while activity usually starts to calm down as November approaches, it’s too soon to put away your hurricane prep kit. There’s still a chance another system will pop up before the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30.

“The biggest source of formation from late October through November comes from the western Caribbean,” Michael Lowry, WPLG-Channel 10’s hurricane specialist wrote in his Eye on the Tropics blog.

“Another area we look to are old cold fronts that stall out over still-warm waters,” particularly over the Gulf of Mexico and off the U.S. eastern seaboard, Lowry wrote. Forecasters also have to watch the central Atlantic.

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So far, the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which NOAA predicted would be “above average,” has seen 11 named storms. Five strengthened into hurricanes, including Ian, which struck Southwest Florida as a Category 4 in late September. If another storm were to form in the Atlantic basin, it would be named Lisa.

But, for now, all is calm.

“No new tropical cyclones are expected during the next five days,” in the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said in its map at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The eastern Pacific isn’t so lucky. Forecasters are monitoring Tropical Storm Roslyn, which formed Thursday morning off Mexico’s Pacific coast and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane soon.