While the Gulf of Mexico- GOM sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are a small part of the equation for Tropical Cyclone development. The current SSTs seem to be a bit or two above the norm.
Below are the SSTs on or about March 20th for the years 2005 through 2008. The SSTs for 2008 are a lot warmer in the NW Caribbean and the GOM Loop Current areas.
Edit: The images below would seem to indicate a warming of the GOM SSTs. However, peer review indicates that the Temperature Scale and coloring of the SSTs have changed over the last 3 years.
Where 25C would have been a light orange in 2005, it is now a deeper orange. Suggestive of warmer SSTs.~danielw

All of the photos are from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/avhrr/gm/index.html
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/avhrr/gm/averages/index.html

2005

2006

2007

2008