Pacific Hurricane Season Sets 2026 Activity Record as El Niño Fuels Simon and New Flood Risks
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 12
Pacific Hurricane Season Sets 2026 Activity Record as El Niño Fuels Simon and New Flood Risks
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 12
Summary
Simon pushed the eastern and central Pacific to a 2026 activity record, with cumulative strong-wind energy now surpassing the previous 2018 high.
El Niño and unusually warm Pacific waters drove the "remarkable" season, which has already sent multiple systems toward Hawaii and the U.S. West as moisture-rich remnants.
Rachel's remnants lashed the West on Sunday: Las Vegas got 1.08 inches of rain—more than a quarter of its annual average—while parts north and west of the city saw 2 to 3 inches and swift-water rescues.
Simon is expected to skirt Mexico's west coast early this week, bringing life-threatening flooding there before feeding storms from Texas to Missouri through Thursday and possible flooding in western Texas and New Mexico into Friday.
The Pacific may extend the record further, with a 90% chance of another tropical storm west of Mexico within a week; the Atlantic, by contrast, is expected to stay hurricane-free after Isaias.