Third Named Storm of 2026 Develops off the West Coast of Mexico
Plenty of activity is expected in the Eastern Pacific in 2026. With the likely emergence of a significant El Niño later this summer, an above-average season is anticipated for this portion of the tropics. The EPAC season is already off to a fast start with three named storms in the past week alone.
The Eastern Pacific season always begins two weeks before the Atlantic’s, on May 15th. The initial two weeks of the 2026 EPAC season were tranquil, but things began to ramp up on June 2nd. Amanda was the first named storm of the season. It formed on June 2nd. Amanda peaked with 45-mile-per-hour winds and lasted for nearly a week before dissipating on Monday.
Tropical Storm Boris became the young season’s second storm on Sunday. Battling hostile upper-level winds with an elongated cloud pattern, Boris dissipated within 48 hours of its genesis on Tuesday morning over Southern Mexico. On the heels of Boris’ decline came Tropical Storm Cristina. The EPAC’s third named storm of 2026, Cristina, debuted in the tropical waters off of Nicaragua’s coast approximately 90 miles to the West-Southwest of its capital, Managua.
Like the previous two storms, Cristina has struggled to intensify. Maximum sustained winds have only been between 40 and 45 miles per hour. The barometric pressure remains high at 1006 millibars, equivalent to 29.71 inches. The pressure has only fluctuated several millibars during its brief lifespan. The latest forecast discussion from the National Hurricane Center indicates that strong wind shear has hampered its development.
Not much is expected for Cristina’s future. Over the next several days, the storm is forecast to weaken and become post-tropical within 60 hours. Although the first three storms of the 2026 EPAC season were weak, they are an indication of a very active season ahead. According to Mexico’s Meteorological Service (SMN), between 18 and 21 named storms are expected, with 9 to 11 of those storms becoming hurricanes.
About a quarter of all the named storms, or four to five hurricanes, are forecast to be at least Category Three strength or better on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Meanwhile, NOAA’s forecast indicated anywhere from 15 to 22 named storms, 9 to 14 hurricanes, and 5 to 9 major hurricanes. Both SMN and NOAA’s forecasts cited the emerging El Niño this summer as a key factor for the increased activity.
It is possible that at least one or two of those major hurricanes forecasted could become Category Five storms, too. One of the last Super El Niños occurred during the 1997-98 season, and a number of powerful hurricanes emerged, including Hurricane Linda, which threatened Southern California. Two of those potent storms, Linda and Guillermo, reached Category Five strength. There have been nine Cat Five storms since 2010 in the EPAC.
One of those nine storms became the strongest hurricane ever recorded in either the EPAC or North Atlantic basins. Hurricane Patricia emerged during a Super El Niño and late in the season and rapidly intensified into a Category Five Hurricane. Maximum sustained winds climbed to 215 miles per hour. Barometric pressure dropped to 872 millibars or 25.75 inches. Patricia’s pressure was 10 millibars or 0.30 of an inch lower than Hurricane Wilma from the Atlantic’s 2005 season.
During much of the recent active cycle in the Atlantic, the Eastern Pacific basin has been mostly quiet. Warmer sea surface temperatures off the West Coast of Mexico can still help produce a large number of storms and hurricanes in the EPAC, but not near the numbers seen in the Atlantic. It is not unusual for the Atlantic to be active and the EPAC to be quiet or vice versa. The EPAC is usually active in years that the Atlantic is quiet, especially during El Niños.