The Tropics Are Active in the East Pacific

Download Image image of a tropical storm

While the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season has been off to a slow start, it's a different story in the Eastern Pacific, where the tropics have been especially active. GOES East captured this image of Hurricane Hector and two new tropical storms, John and Ileana, in the East Pacific at 11:30 a.m. ET on August 6, 2018. Hector is the fourth hurricane to form in the Eastern Pacific this year, and is currently a Category 4 storm with 145 mph sustained winds.

Here, we see Hector's well-defined eye at the edge of the GOES East satellite's coverage area, as the storm moves westward into the Central Pacific. The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows the storm weakening slightly before it tracks south of Hawaii's Big Island later this week.

East of Hector is another tropical disturbance, which has a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours. Meanwhile, two additional tropical storms – Ileana and John – have formed south of Mexico. Both storms are expected to strengthen into hurricanes in the next 24 hours. Due to their close proximity, John's large circulation might absorb Ileana and cause the storm to weaken, but Ileana will likely still bring heavy rain to parts of Mexico's southwestern coast.

This geocolor enhanced imagery was created by NOAA's partners at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. The GOES East geostationary satellite, also known as GOES-16, provides coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, the Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern Pacific. The satellite's high-resolution imagery provides optimal viewing of severe weather events, including thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes.

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