Days after the Atlantic saw its first named and land-falling storm of the 2018 season, the Pacific Ocean basin could soon be seeing one as well.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has a 70 percent chance of tropical development with an area of low pressure in the eastern Pacific Ocean in the next five days. The forecast is for the system to slowly develop as it drifts off towards the west and north.
“A tropical depression could form around the middle of next week while it slowly moves west-northwestward,” the NHC wrote in its Saturday summary of the system.
Direct land impacts are unlikely, though the system could track near Mexico’s west coast, bringing larger surf and perhaps some rain to places like Acapulco and Mazatlan.
Were it to become a tropical storm, this system would become the first named storm of the Pacific season, which would be the name of Aletta. The NHC is calling for an above-average season in the eastern Pacific, with 14-to-20 named storms expected, 7-to-12 hurricanes, and 3-to-7 major ones.
Stay with WeatherNation for the latest and through hurricane season.
For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi