Tropical Storm Norbert Forms as the Pacific's Busy Season Continues

There is a new player in the Eastern Pacific. Tropical Storm Norbert formed on Thursday in the open waters off the coast of Mexico, becoming the 16th named storm in this basin this year. What is next for Norbert? Read on for all of the details.

Latest on Tropical Storm Norbert

Tropical Storm Norbert is the latest feature to come to life in the Eastern Pacific, a part of the world's oceans that has been teeming with activity over the last few months. This basin has already generated 3 major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are predicting that Norbert could intensify into a hurricane early this weekend.

A strengthening El Niño has fueled the surge of activity in the Eastern Pacific over the last few months, while the Atlantic remains uncharacteristically quiet despite Friday marking the historical peak of the season. This follows the typical trends of reduced tropical weather in the Atlantic and increased storms in the Eastern and Central Pacific basins when a powerful El Niño is in the driver's seat.

The latest forecast models show Norbert tracking to the east and toward Hawaii. However, there is still plenty of time for this track to change before it would potentially approach the islands.