Pacific hurricane region sets record for big, long-lasting storms thanks to El Niño: news

Pacific Hurricane Region Sets Record for Big, Long-Lasting Storms Driven by El Niño

The Pacific hurricane basin east of the International Date Line has officially surpassed previous records for the longevity and intensity of major tropical cyclones. Fueled by a powerful, supersized El Niño weather pattern and anomalous ocean warmth, the region has seen an unprecedented series of massive, long-duration hurricanes.

Key Drivers Behind the Historic Activity

Meteorologists attribute this extreme Pacific storm season to several converging atmospheric and oceanic factors:

• Elevated Sea Surface Temperatures: The ongoing El Niño event has significantly warmed equatorial Pacific waters. This warm water acts as thermal fuel, allowing developing systems to rapidly intensify and sustain extreme core wind speeds over extended distances.

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• Reduced Vertical Wind Shear: El Niño conditions create unusually low wind shear throughout the eastern and central Pacific. Without upper-level winds disrupting storm structures, hurricanes can remain vertically stacked and organized for days at a time.

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• High Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE): Sustained low-shear environments and deep tropical moisture have driven Pacific ACE valuesa metric reflecting both storm duration and intensitypast former benchmarks set during the active 2018 season.

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Simultaneous Activity and Global Impact

Atmospheric scientists note that both eastern and central sectors of the Pacific have remained hyperactive at the same time, maintaining five consecutive major hurricanes reaching Category 3 intensity or higher.

In contrast, the same El Niño dynamics have generated stronger wind shear and sinking air across the Atlantic basin, keeping Atlantic tropical cyclone activity suppressed well below historical averages while the Pacific continues its record-setting run.