{"id":911919,"date":"2026-10-01T06:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T06:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911919\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T06:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T06:22:09","slug":"three-pacific-hurricanes-rage-as-el-nino-rewrites-the-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911919\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Pacific hurricanes rage as El Nino rewrites the records"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three hurricanes are storming across the Pacific. And a wall of water is marching on California. Meanwhile, the Atlantic remains disquietingly calm.<\/p>\n

Nature is struggling to find its balance.<\/p>\n

Be the first to know when news breaks. Download our new app<\/a><\/p>\n

Hurricane Polo crossed the coast of Mexico\u2019s Baja California state overnight, bringing with it flash flooding and \u201clife-threatening\u201d 175km\/h winds. It exploded into existence last week, strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 5 Hurricane in less than 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Another tropical storm, Rachel, is brewing nearby. It\u2019s expected to reach hurricane strength in the next day or so.<\/p>\n

Hurricane Odalys was a Category 4 just days ago. It\u2019s now wandering the open ocean while weakening.<\/p>\n

Hurricane Nolo pumped itself up to Category 4 (also within 24 hours) before sliding just south of the Hawaiian Islands at the weekend. That makes it the third (including Lala and Lowell) to do so this year.<\/p>\n

\u201c2026 thus marks the first time in recorded history in which two or more hurricanes have each passed within 50 miles [80km] of Hawaii, and joined only a handful of other years when three storms came within 100 miles [160km],\u201d University of California researcher Dr Daniel Swain noted<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Normally, 12 tropical storms would have spawned in the Pacific by the end of September. <\/p>\n

This year there have been 17.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the first time in recorded history that no hurricane has formed in the Atlantic. <\/p>\n

Usually, by the end of September, there would have been about five Category 1 to 2 hurricanes and two \u201cmajor\u201d hurricanes of Category 3 and over.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has already been a remarkable, and arguably historic, East Pacific hurricane season,\u201d Dr Swain said.<\/p>\n

He said a measure of total storm activity over the Pacific, the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) score<\/a>, is about 230 per cent (more than double) the average. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll in all, this represents a fairly dramatic validation of rather bold seasonal outlooks made as far back as the spring as soon as our big El Nino event began to come into focus,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Weather spiral<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passage of the hurricane in Baja California Sur has left us with rain, but no loss of life,\u201d the state\u2019s governor, Victor Castro, said shortly after Polo made landfall.<\/p>\n

It has since weakened to a tropical storm and is expected to bring heavy winds and rainfall to 10 US states, including Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most concerning effects of Polo may not actually be in Mexico at all \u2013 but instead across the interior Southwest and Southern Plains of the United States,\u201d Dr Swain added. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis very heavy rainfall will be a mixed blessing in the midst of a severe drought \u2013 while water is much needed here, it will probably be too much of a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While no hurricanes have yet formed in the Atlantic, a few tropical storms have emerged from the Saharan coast.<\/p>\n

The United States\u2019 eastern seaboard has been hit by a strong nor\u2019easter (noncyclical) storm in recent days. Torrential rains, damaging winds and coastal flooding have lashed the coast from Maine to North Carolina.<\/p>\n

But no storm has even approached hurricane status yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly as had been predicted,\u201d Dr Swain stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cA rapidly strengthening El Nino event has dramatically weakened storm-decapitating vertical wind shear in the Pacific and warmed tropical and subtropical ocean temperatures atop the already considerable global warming trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the tropical Atlantic, by contrast, is experiencing one of its quietest seasons on record due in large part to El Nino-induced strengthening of that same storm-decapitating wind shear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ocean rise<\/p>\n

El Nino is the name given to the periodic rise in ocean temperatures in the East Pacific, off the coast of South America. <\/p>\n

This year has been far more intense than usual. <\/p>\n

Water temperatures are at record highs. And the phenomenon doesn\u2019t normally peak for at least another one to two months.<\/p>\n

This year is therefore experiencing an especially strong \u201cswelling\u201d in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean\u2019s surface. And it\u2019s pushing further north than ever seen before.<\/p>\n

This average 30cm sea level rise is expected to lead to damaging coastal erosion, inundation and storm surges along Mexico and into Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u201cTides are already running a foot or more above average thanks to the extreme marine heatwave,\u201d Dr Swain explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd additional sea level elevation may begin soon as the largest coastally-trapped Kelvin wave of the El Nino-generated sequence thus far arrives in October.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Kelvin wave is caused by a weakening or reversal of the equatorial trade winds that normally blow the warm water toward Indonesia and Australia. When a strong El Nino cuts this wind pressure, the water sloshes back into the depression it leaves behind.<\/p>\n

The story is different for the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n

Typically, strong El Nino years decrease the odds of cyclones forming in the Coral Sea to Australia\u2019s east. And while waters around much of the coast are currently up to 3C above average, those to the north and northeast have cooled to about 1C below average<\/a> in some areas. <\/p>\n

Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three hurricanes are storming across the Pacific. And a wall of water is marching on California. Meanwhile, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[479369,479438,419730,479430,479447,479388,479383,479446,479372,479441,10968,169436,479409,479418,479396,479378,479442,479385,479371,479422,381217,479406,434072,479452,479377,479410,479427,479440,479380,380080,479392,479448,479426,479404,24990,479413,3265,479382,479411,425971,5888,64,63,38943,479368,485,313133,479366,479417,145034,32092,13618,119623,3912,256555,479435,140042,479445,479412,218523,479439,2572,75,466331,36683,479429,90094,244,479365,479451,479444,479424,479362,479400,479425,383906,479375,479381,372805,13307,479398,8280,12284,2184,388935,479419,2270,5774,44,479414,479390,479397,479399,479449,479436,97849,33373,407495,479428,479437,479431,52369,97556,15157,479370,384158,8050,74021,479403,7968,128,5400,43157,479423,11298,25151,17711,479374,479408,479453,479450,10493,452250,379753,479389,479401,215379,479407,479376,479363,382541,376549,479420,479367,479434,479405,413240,479364,385284,406344,479395,38649,197971,479391,404336,479373,411818,165057,414113,479394,126787,479432,22514,239728,479386,364611,479379,479384,479443,364868,39,200322,479393,479421,479416,479415,479387,6620,479402,115979,11814,429572,479433,1547],"class_list":["post-911919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-s-baja-california-state","tag-s-governor","tag-s-surface","tag-life-threatening-175km-h-winds","tag-1-to-2-hurricanes","tag-10-us-states","tag-100-miles","tag-12-tropical-storms","tag-160km","tag-17-it","tag-10968","tag-24-hours","tag-30cm-sea-level-rise","tag-50-miles","tag-80km","tag-a-category-4","tag-a-category-5-hurricane","tag-a-fairly-dramatic-validation","tag-a-few-tropical-storms","tag-a-foot-or-more","tag-a-good-thing","tag-a-kelvin-wave","tag-a-measure","tag-a-mixed-blessing","tag-a-rapidly-strengthening-el-nino-event","tag-a-remarkable","tag-a-severe-drought","tag-a-strong-el-nino","tag-a-tropical-storm","tag-a-wall","tag-a-weakening-or-reversal","tag-about-230","tag-about-five-category","tag-accumulated","tag-ace","tag-additional-sea-level-elevation","tag-all","tag-an-especially-strong-swelling","tag-and-arguably-historic","tag-another-one","tag-arizona","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-average","tag-baja-california-sur","tag-california","tag-california-coast","tag-california-researcher-dr-daniel-swain","tag-category-3","tag-category-4","tag-cent","tag-coastal-erosion","tag-coastal-flooding","tag-colorado","tag-contrast","tag-damaging","tag-damaging-winds","tag-dr-swain","tag-east-pacific-hurricane-season","tag-eastern-seaboard","tag-el-nino-induced-strengthening","tag-energy","tag-environment","tag-existence","tag-experts","tag-extreme-el-nino","tag-focus","tag-hawaii","tag-heavy-winds-and-rainfall","tag-hurricane-status","tag-hurricane-strength","tag-indonesia-and-australia","tag-inundation-and-storm-surges","tag-its-balance-be","tag-its-quietest-seasons","tag-just-days","tag-lala-and-lowell","tag-landfall-it","tag-large-part","tag-last-week","tag-less-than-24-hours-another-tropical-storm","tag-life","tag-maine","tag-mexico","tag-more-than","tag-multiple-hurricanes","tag-nature","tag-new-mexico","tag-news","tag-no-hurricane","tag-no-hurricanes","tag-no-loss","tag-no-storm","tag-north-carolina-but","tag-ocean-riseel-nino","tag-ocean-temperatures","tag-october","tag-only-a-handful","tag-other-years","tag-our-big-el-nino-event","tag-our-new-apphurricane-polo","tag-polo","tag-rachel","tag-rain","tag-rather-bold-seasonal-outlooks","tag-recent-days","tag-record","tag-record-highs","tag-recorded-history","tag-rising-sea-levels","tag-science","tag-score","tag-september","tag-so-hurricane-odalys","tag-south-america","tag-southern-california","tag-storm","tag-storm-decapitating-vertical-wind","tag-texas-and","tag-that-same-storm-decapitating-wind-shear","tag-the-already-considerable-global-warming-trend","tag-the-atlantic","tag-the-average","tag-the-coast","tag-the-east-pacific","tag-the-el-nino-generated-sequence","tag-the-end","tag-the-equatorial-eastern-pacific-ocean","tag-the-equatorial-trade-winds","tag-the-extreme-marine-heatwave","tag-the-first","tag-the-first-time","tag-the-hawaiian-islands","tag-the-hurricane","tag-the-interior-southwest-and-southern-plains","tag-the-largest-coastally-trapped-kelvin-wave","tag-the-midst","tag-the-most-concerning-effects","tag-the-name","tag-the-next-day","tag-the-open-ocean","tag-the-pacific","tag-the-passage","tag-the-periodic-rise","tag-the-phenomenon","tag-the-saharan-coast-the-united-states","tag-the-spring","tag-the-state","tag-the-third","tag-the-tropical-atlantic","tag-the-united-states","tag-the-warm-water","tag-the-weekend","tag-the-worst","tag-this-very-heavy-rainfall","tag-this-year","tag-three-hurricanes","tag-three-simultaneous-pacific-hurricanes","tag-three-storms","tag-tides","tag-top-stories","tag-torrential-rains","tag-total-storm-activity","tag-tropical-and-subtropical-ocean-temperatures","tag-two-major-hurricanes","tag-two-months-this","tag-two-or-more-hurricanes","tag-university","tag-victor-castro","tag-wall","tag-water","tag-water-temperatures","tag-weakening-hurricane-nolo","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}