Hawaii and Southern California's Elevated Hurricane Risk Is Real This Year

Climatologists sounded the alarm months ago, warning that the 2026 Eastern and Central Pacific hurricane seasons could be a real doozy. This forecast is coming to fruition as several named storms have already formed. Here is a look at what is causing this uptick in tropical weather activity and what parts of the basin should prepare for more impacts.

Eastern Pacific Remains on Heightened Alert for Tropical Weather

A strengthening El Niño is partnering with exceptionally warm ocean waters to boost tropical activity across the eastern and central portions of the Pacific. Both of these areas of the Pacific were forecast to see a higher than usual number of named storms, and those predictions are proving to be accurate. 

For instance, the basin has already seen seven named storms. Most recently, Hurricane Genevieve exploded into a monster Category 5 storm, becoming the first storm of this intensity this season.

It is not unusual for a potent El Niño phase to lead to a greater amount of action in the tropical Pacific. This is largely because this climate phase tends to suppress the disruptive wind shear that typically breaks storms apart. The addition of the unusually warm ocean waters can help storms to intensify more quickly and last longer. This added boost also means that storms are more likely to migrate north toward Baja California and Southern California.