The National Hurricane Center continues to predict an empty slate in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf through next week. Saharan dust continues to spread across the tropical Atlantic from Africa, while El Niño-driven hostile upper-level winds blow across the Caribbean from the Pacific. First, notice that almost all the dots are green – from the AIFS model. Also, this season, we have seen the AIFS model return higher probabilities than the other models for the previous storms. Overall, the basin looks inhospitable to tropical development for the foreseeable future.