The Pacific hurricane season is showing no signs of slowing down as multiple tropical systems churn across the basin, with warm ocean temperatures and a strengthening El Niño helping create favorable conditions for development. Hurricane Karina (now a major hurricane), Hurricane Lowell (now a major hurricane), and Tropical Storm Marie are among the latest systems to form over the open Pacific.

Marie is the most recent storm to develop and could have implications for the southwestern U.S. Impacts are not likely to be direct, as the system will strengthen to hurricane status and move west, out to sea.

But Marie's moisture may get pulled up by a trough off the west coast of the United States. As it digs south, it can tap into the Pacific moisture of Marie and pull it into Southern California, Nevada, and the Four Corners States. We'll be watching the weekend forecast for rain in already soggy, flood-stricken areas.

MORE: Monsoon Storms Bring Flooding to the Southwest

With well above average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, Lowell has strengthened to Category 5. Karina will stay a major hurricane for another day or so before gradually weakening and moving north of Hawaii.

El Niño Helping Fuel Pacific Activity

The surge in tropical activity comes as El Niño continues to strengthen across the equatorial Pacific. El Niño is characterized by warmer-than-average ocean temperatures across portions of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. Those unusually warm waters can influence weather patterns around the globe while also creating an environment that can favor tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific.

This year’s El Niño has already strengthened considerably, and forecasts indicate it could become exceptionally strong later this year.

While the Pacific remains crowded with tropical systems, many of the current storms are expected to remain over open water. Still, with several additional areas being monitored, the active stretch of the 2026 Pacific hurricane season is far from over.

Click here for more on what is happening in the Atlantic Basin: Edouard Impacting the Gulf Coast