Elida could become the second Pacific hurricane of the season

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Tropical Storm Elida forms off Mexico, forecast to become the second Pacific hurricane of this season.

Another named tropical storm has formed off the western coast of Mexico and is forecast to become a hurricane on Monday before dissipating without threat to any land.

Tropical Storm Elida, which had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph on Sunday, is forecast to weaken late Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As the system moves over warm water with little wind shear through Sunday and Monday, it is expected to form into a hurricane, according to AccuWeather.

“For a variety of reasons, conditions have not been favorable in the eastern Pacific Ocean for nearly two weeks,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.

Although the system doesn’t pose any danger to land, Elida may create rough seas and especially strong rip currents, which could be a threat for cargo ships and beaches in Mexico.

Elida follows a pair of much stronger hurricanes, Hanna and Isaias, foreshadowing an active season, forecasters said.

“We have increased our forecast and now call for an extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season,” meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said, and his Colorado State University Team predicts 24 named storms in the Atlantic in 2020.

That list included the nine named storms that have already formed: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna and Isaias.

If Elida forms into a hurricane, as predicted, it would be the second Pacific hurricane of the season.

The first, named Douglas, formed July 22, had winds of 80 mph and was 1,690 miles from Hilo, Hawaii. It was forecast to be the third ever hurricane to make landfall in the island. But Douglas had other plans, and swirled just north of Hawaii.

In all, this “could be one of the more active seasons in the historical record,” said lead seasonal hurricane forecaster Gerry Bell of the Climate Prediction Center during a media teleconference.

Atmospheric and oceanic conditions such as a potential La Niña in the Pacific, weak wind shear and warm sea-surface temperatures in the Atlantic, and a strong West African monsoon all combine to make hurricanes more likely, Bell said.

Source: USA TODAY

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