How a growing El Niño will affect 2026 hurricane season in Atlantic, Pacific

U.S. How a growing El Niño will affect 2026 hurricane season in Atlantic and Pacific By Nikki Nolan Nikki Nolan Meteorologist, CBS News and Stations Nikki Nolan is a meteorologist for CBS News and Stations. She graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology and has worked in national weather TV coverage since 2019. Read Full Bio Nikki Nolan May 15, 2026 / 9:55 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google As the globe transitions into an El Niño climate pattern, temperatures in the waters in the Pacific Ocean are on the rise. It comes just as the Eastern Pacific hurricane season officially begins on Friday, May 15. Warm ocean waters are the essential fuel for tropical cyclone development, which makes this incoming El Niño phase perfect conditions for an increased hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.Because it reduces vertical wind shear, meaning change in direction of winds at higher levels of the atmosphere, an El Niño climate pattern allows for tropical systems that develop in the region to avoid getting "blown over" and falling apart. The environment over the warmer Pacific waters helps enable tropical storms and hurricanes to develop and stay fully structured vertically. Meanwhile, El Nino's influence in the Atlantic basin nudges conditions in the opposite direction, with relatively cooler waters and more vertical wind shear, which does not make for the most ideal environment for tropical system development. This does not necessarily mean that we won't see any Atlantic hurricane systems — just statistically, there may be less than average.  CBS News/Nikki Nolan The last time an El Niño pattern occurred was in 2023 and we have been in a La Nina pattern ever since, which correlates with the above-average Atlantic hurricane seasons in recent years. Back in 2023, the Eastern Pacific hurricane season produced 20 tropical systems, 17 of which...