The Pacific is churning with hurricanes. The Atlantic is quiet. Blame El Niño

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows three storms in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Tropical Storm Nolo, left, is south of Hawaii. Hurricane Polo, right, is off the coast of Mexico. Hurricane Odalys is in the middle. NOAA via AP/NOAA hide caption

It's been an extreme hurricane season in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans — but for vastly different reasons.

The Pacific Ocean has seen 18 hurricanes so far and 41 named storms overall, which are unusually high numbers for this point in the season.

For the first time in over 100 years, no full-blown hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic as of September 25. Only seven named storms have formed, all of which were less-intense tropical storms.

"It's a tale of two basins," says Gabriel Vecchi, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University. "The Pacific: incredibly active. The North Atlantic: incredibly inactive."

Scientists say this is likely due to a powerful El Niño climate pattern. This natural pattern, which occurs every few years, tends to suppress hurricanes in the Atlantic while fueling more storms in the Pacific.

Hurricane Nolo is expected to bring heavy rainfall and potential flooding to Hawaii this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center .

It's the third hurricane to threaten the islands this year, following Hurricane Lala in August and Hurricane Lowell in early September.