Hurricanes crowd the Pacific: What Hawaii and California can expect

Key Points:

• An active El Niño is driving a busy tropical season in the eastern and central Pacific, with 15 tropical depressions and storms so far, including five hurricanes, and forecasts predicting up to 22 named storms and 9-13 hurricanes.
• Category 4 Hurricane Lowell is expected to make a right turn toward Hawaii this weekend, potentially bringing rough surf, strong rip currents, heavy rain, strong winds, and power outages, especially to the western islands.
• Tropical moisture from Hurricane Marie is forecast to bring heavy downpours to Southern California and the southwestern U.S. this weekend, although a direct landfall in California remains extremely rare.
• An unusually strong jet stream near the U.S. West Coast will influence weather patterns, bringing cooler air to the Pacific Northwest while allowing periodic surges of humid tropical air to affect Southern California and the Southwest into early September.
• The combination of tropical storms and jet stream activity will likely cause rough surf, powerful breakers, and sneaker waves along the California coast through Labor Day weekend, increasing flash-flood risks amid ongoing drought conditions.