The latest storm news from the US National Hurricane Center on June 4 said that storm Amanda is located about 2,420km southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico. Because the storm's center is offshore, the storm does not pose a direct threat to the mainland.
Meteorologists say Amanda has maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h. It is forecast that the storm will strengthen in the next few days and then weaken by the weekend.
The Pacific hurricane season begins on May 15. The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, but no storms have formed in this basin this year.
Storm Amanda formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean in the context of El Nino preparing to strengthen this basin.
While Amanda is forecast to remain offshore and is expected to dissipate next week due to unfavorable winds while moving west, US hurricane forecasters have identified another area likely to strengthen into a tropical storm near the Mexican coast.
The new system after storm Amanda is noteworthy because it is close to the mainland. Current forecast models predict that if it becomes a tropical depression or storm, it is likely that this system will move along the coast.
No matter how strong it becomes, this system is forecast to cause widespread rain across southeastern Mexico and Central America in the next 10 days.
The current developments at this time of year are exactly as expected because the first storm in the eastern Pacific usually forms around June 10" - FOX's storm forecast noted.
These developments are also consistent with the developing super El Nino climate model, which is expected to play a dominant role in this year's storm season, potentially increasing tropical storm activity in the eastern Pacific, while curbing storm development in the Atlantic.
On average, each storm season in the eastern Pacific has about 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 4 extremely strong storms.
