2026 Hurricane Season To Lean Below Average

Tropical activity has sprung to life in the Central Pacific heading into the peak of the season for the basin. Hurricane Iona and Tropical Storm Keli have spun up well clear of Hawaii.

Here are a few highlights:

• Hurricane Iona, the first storm to develop, became the first major hurricane to develop in the Central Pacific since 2018.
• Major hurricanes (those of Category 3 strength or stronger) form once every 4-5 years in the basin.
• No storms are expected to affect Hawaii directly.
• Multiple other systems could form. For the larger picture, see the latest at the National Hurricane Center.
• Four to five tropical depressions, storms or hurricanes pass through the Central Pacific each year.
• Activity peaks there during August.

(MORE: How Unusual Are Hurricanes, Tropical Storms For Hawaii?)

An indirect impact from the weather systems could be swells, but they are relatively small and moving westward and won’t create anything significant, said Derek Wroe with the weather service in Honolulu.

However, a large swell is headed toward Hawaii after being generated several hundred miles east of New Zealand.

It’s expected to arrive in Hawaii by Thursday, about the same time the storms pass the state.

“People might wrongly attribute the swell energy to be from these tropical systems, but they’re actually not,” he said.

The Associated Press has contributed to this report.