Tropical Storm Amanda formed Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean, marking the first tropical cyclone of the season, the National Hurricane Center said.
Amanda was located about 1,475 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, according to the Miami-based weather center. With the center of the storm at sea, the cyclone posed no immediate threat to land.
Amanda had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, meteorologists said. The storm was forecast to strengthen over the next few days and then weaken over the weekend.
The Pacific hurricane season started May 15. The Atlantic hurricane season began Monday, and no cyclones have formed in that basin yet this year.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it expects the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season to be below normal, largely attributing its forecast to a potentially strong El Niño pattern.
Forecasters say there is a 55% probability the 2026 season will be below normal, a 35% chance it will be near normal, and a 10% chance it will be above normal. The center stressed that it takes only one hurricane to cause catastrophic damage and noted that Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall during below-average seasons.
The agency predicts 8 to 14 named storms in 2026, with 3 to 6 becoming hurricanes and 1 to 3 reaching Category 3 strength or higher. An average season has 14 named storms, eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Although the 2025 season had only 13 named storms and five hurricanes, it was notable for producing three Category 5 hurricanes, including Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica and caused dozens of fatalities.
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El Niño is part of a climate cycle in which waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean become warmer than average. Sea surface temperatures in the region where El Niño develops are expected to be 2.5 degrees Celsius above normal.
