🌊 Pacific Tropics Update — August 19, 2026

The Pacific is the more active tropical basin this morning, with significant activity in both the Central Pacific and Western Pacific.

🌀 Hurricane Lala — Central Pacific

The biggest concern is Hurricane Lala, which has rapidly strengthened while moving west-northwestward away from the main Hawaiian Islands.

Lala has become a major hurricane, with reports placing its maximum sustained winds around 130 mph (210 km/h). The storm is now moving toward the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, rather than making a direct strike on the populated Hawaiian Islands. (AP News)

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for portions of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, including the area from Lisianski Island to Maro Reef. (San Francisco Chronicle)

🌊 Major hazards:

• Hurricane-force winds

• Dangerous surf and large waves

• Coastal flooding/inundation

• Significant impacts to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Lala is an especially notable storm because it has become the first major hurricane of the 2026 Central Pacific season. (AP News)

🇺🇸 Hawaii

The main Hawaiian Islands have already experienced the worst of Lala’s direct impacts. The storm produced heavy rain, flooding, power outages and damaging winds, with recovery efforts continuing across parts of the state. (AP News)

The storm is now pulling farther west, reducing the threat to the major populated islands.

🌴 Eastern Pacific

The Eastern Pacific remains active, although the immediate focus is farther west in the Central Pacific. NOAA’s National Hurricane Center continues to monitor the basin for additional tropical development. (National Hurricane Center)

The developing El Niño is an important background factor. NOAA’s Central Pacific outlook calls for a 70% chance of an above-normal 2026 season, with 5–13 tropical cyclones forecast in the basin. (National Weather Service)

🌏 Western Pacific

The Western Pacific is also active, with Tropical Storm Saudel and another developing system being monitored. This makes the broader Pacific particularly busy compared with the Atlantic right now.

🔎 Pacific Outlook

Pacific tropical activity: 🔴 HIGH

The key system today is Hurricane Lala, which remains a powerful major hurricane over the Central Pacific. Additional tropical development is possible as warm ocean waters and a strengthening El Niño continue to provide a favorable large-scale environment.

Bottom line: The Pacific is currently the basin to watch, with Lala posing the greatest immediate threat to the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, while the Eastern and Western Pacific continue to show signs of an active tropical pattern. (San Francisco Chronicle)