AccuWeather forecasters are watching two areas within the Atlantic for tropical development at the start of August.

Tropical activity in the Atlantic may start to ramp up soon as hurricane season prepares to shift into a higher gear as August arrives.

Louisiana meteorologists and weather experts criticized the decision to cut the satellites and joined others across the country to push back. "This is a good thing," New Orleans meteorologist Scot Pilié said.

In the Pacific, forecasters are watching five systems, including Hurricane Iona and Tropical Storm Keli. Iona has strengthened into a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph about 790 miles south-southeast of Honolulu, Hawaii.

While the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season started off relatively quiet, experts say that’s not likely to last much longer.

Iona became the first named storm of the 2025 hurricane season in the Central Pacific on Sunday evening local time. The storm was over the ocean southeast of Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour.

After weeks of requests from politicians and media, the state of Florida said it has no formal, completed plan for how to handle a hurricane at Alligator Alcatraz, the new immigrant detention site

Heading south from Ohio to Florida's beaches? Atlantic hurricane season is heading for a 'pivot point,' forecasters warn. Here's what to expect.