Nation’s top forecaster has urgent message as hurricane season starts
USA TODAY spoke with Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan. These five safety tips will help protect you as the Atlantic season begins to heat up.
Tropical Storm Amanda, the first named storm of the 2026 hurricane season, has formed far from land in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the National Hurricane Center said.
It’s the opening salvo in what’s expected to be a doozy of a season in the Pacific hurricane basin, thanks to the storm-boosting El Niño climate pattern.
As of 11 a.m. ET, Amanda had sustained winds of 40 mph and was located about halfway between Mexico and Hawaii. It should not pose a threat to the islands or any land areas, AccuWeather said.
“Amanda will likely survive only two to three days as it curves northwestward into cooler waters,” AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said.
In addition to Amanda, the hurricane center said it is also keeping tabs on two other systems in the eastern Pacific basin.
Forecasters said an area of low pressure is forecast to form offshore of Central America and southern Mexico late this week, with environmental conditions appearing conducive for the system to strengthen into a tropical depression late this weekend or early next week.
The hurricane center says the system has a 50% chance of tropical development within the next week.
Another area of low pressure is forecast to form offshore of southern and southwestern Mexico early next week, with environmental conditions potentially allowing for some gradual development as it moves slowly northward. Forecasters give the system a 20% chance of tropical development.
El Niño’s impact
While El Niño is expected to reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin, it should have the opposite impact in the eastern Pacific.
In the Eastern Pacific hurricane region, the forecast is for a busier-than-normal season, thanks to El Niño’s influence. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a 70% chance of an above-normal season, said NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs last week at a news conference in Florida.
“In the Eastern Pacific, we’re expecting 15 to 22 named storms, nine to 14 hurricanes and five to nine major hurricanes,” Jacobs said. In the Central Pacific, five to 13 tropical cyclones are expected.
