Tropical Storm Amanda has become the first tropical cyclone of the Pacific season, forming on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center announced.
The storm was located about 1,475 miles (2,375 kilometers) west-southwest of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
With its center at sea, Amanda poses no immediate threat to land, according to the Miami-based weather center.
Amanda currently sustains maximum winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Meteorologists predict it will strengthen over the next few days before weakening by the weekend.
The Pacific hurricane season began on May 15. The Atlantic season started Monday, but has yet to see any cyclone formation.
Following Amanda on the list of names for the 2026 Pacific season is Boris.
This year’s Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to be calmer than normal – but the eastern Pacific season won’t be as lucky, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
That’s because of a seasonal climate pattern known as El Niño, which can suppress hurricane development over the Atlantic Ocean and increase those conditions over the Pacific.
An especially strong “super” El Niño has contributed to a 70 percent chance of above-normal activity in the eastern Pacific, including storms that hit Hawaii and sometimes the West Coast.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially concluded on November 30, presented a striking paradox, oscillating between periods of unusual calm and bursts of formidable storm activity. Despite generating some exceptionally powerful systems, the United States experienced a decade-long first: no hurricane made landfall.
“For the first time in a decade, not a single hurricane struck the U.S. this season, and that was a much-needed break,” stated Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
However, the season was not without impact. “Still, a tropical storm caused damage and casualties in the Carolinas, distant hurricanes created rough ocean waters that caused property damage along the East Coast, and neighboring countries experienced direct hits from hurricanes.”
From 1991 through 2020, an average hurricane season in the Central and Eastern Pacific generated between 16 and 17 storms, eight to nine of which were hurricanes and four to five of which reached at least Category 3 status, according to Weather.com.
