Hurricane season begins in the eastern Pacific
While hurricane season is still two weeks away in the Atlantic, Wednesday is the start of hurricane season in the eastern Pacific.
On average, more storms will form in the Pacific basin, but rarely make landfall. The ocean waters off the west coast are far to cold to sustain a hurricane, which requires sea surface temperatures of at least 80 degrees.
Additionally, the trade winds usually carry the storms westward, away from the coast. Rarely, storms can recurve back toward the coastline and make landfall along Baja California. Occasionally, they can bring heavy rain to southern California, but by then have lost their tropical characteristics.
Forecasters expect an average to below-normal year in terms of cyclone activity in the eastern Pacific.
