After a rapid start to the season in the tropical Atlantic, things are – for now – mercifully quiet.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) outlook, as of Monday, had only one small area of potential tropical development, that in association with a slow-moving area of low pressure off the Carolina coastline. Here’s a look at that:

Otherwise, the tropics – after a flurry of storms to start the Atlantic basin season – have calmed down somewhat. The overall lack of activity is somewhat of a rarity, considering how busy this season has been so far.

But of course, it’s worth noting that the Atlantic’s hurricane season only just began back on June 1st – barely two weeks ago. Normally, the third season of the Atlantic basin doesn’t develop until mid-August, and with Cristobal’s landfall last week in southeastern Louisiana, there have already been two landfalling tropical systems in the U.S. so far this tropical season.

Most seasonal forecasts point to an expectation for an above average hurricane season, so during this quieter spell, it’s probably a good time to review your hurricane preparedness plan.

The peak of Atlantic basin hurricane season isn’t until late August and running through September (the peak month) and into early October, before a sharp drop off into the end of the Atlantic’s hurricane season on November 30th.

The same current quieter pattern also goes for the eastern Pacific, where no areas are currently highlighted for possible development. Here, however, only one named storm has developed (Andrea, which eventually became Cristobal), though the eastern Pacific can often see a flurry of early season activity. An expected transition to a La Nina pattern, however, is expected to generally suppress development in this region this year.

Stay with WeatherNation for the latest through the tropics season.