The Atlantic has been quiet ever since hurricane season began on June 1, and it looks to be staying that way as we head into July.

The typical breeding ground early in the season is the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean. It’s usually a quiet month, but activity has been even further suppressed by persistent moderate to high levels of wind shear (25-50 kts) across these areas – making it tough for anything to get organized.

Courtesy: TropicalTidbits.com

There has also been a vast Saharan Air Layer (Dust off Northern Africa) in place across the Atlantic. At times we’ve had pockets of this dust and dry air  move over the Caribbean and Gulf. It makes for some vibrant sunsets, but creates a hostile environment for tropical development.

Courtesy: CIMSS / University of Wisconsin – Madison

Long-range model runs are showing no areas of concern in the Atlantic for at least the next 7-10 days.