The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has unveiled updates to the cone of uncertainty for the upcoming hurricane season, as well as refined other parameters. 

What You Need To Know

  • Inland tropical watches and warnings will be shown on an experimental map with the cone, similar to 2024 experimental map

  • Potential Tropical Cyclones will be issued up to 72 hours out from a storm

  • A new rip current risk map will be provided by NHC during a tropical event

Thanks to positive feedback from the 2024 hurricane season, the cone of uncertainty graphic will now display inland watches and warnings to better communicate the wind risk away from the coast. 

The size of the track forecast cone will appear slightly smaller, about 3 to 5% in the Atlantic basin, compared to 2024. According to the NHC, “the cone represents the probable track of the center of a tropical cyclone."

Here is a look at what the new experimental cone will look like.

The traditional operational cone of uncertainty, without the inand watches/warnings, will continue to be distributed by the NHC. The new, experimental, graphic will be available on the National Hurricane Center website and usually update approximately 30 minutes after the advisory release.

This experimental graphic will be released for both full and intermediate advisories. 

Potential Tropical Cyclones

Since 2017, the NHC has used potential tropical cyclone (PTC) forecasts to alert the public of threats before a storm has even formed. Beginning this hurricane season, they can alert the public up further in advance, now 72 hours out.

For more information on PTCs, click here. 

Rip current risk

Due to increases in rip current and surf fatalities during a tropical event, the NHC has decided to better highlight the risk during tropical events. 

“They will now provide rip current risk information that originates from local National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) in a national rip current risk map when at least one active tropical system is present.”

The map will provide rip current risk information but will not give specific information on the height of the surf. Here’s a prototype. 

2025 Atlantic names

Here’s a look at the list of names for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. 

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