Barbara becomes first hurricane of East Pacific season. Cosme won't be far behind

Yahoo

a day ago

While all remains quiet in the tropical Atlantic basin, that's not the case in the eastern Pacific.
Barbara strengthened as expected into the first hurricane of the eastern Pacific June 9, according to the 11 a.m. ET advisory.
Tropical Storm Cosme is forecast to become the season's second hurricane later today.
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A third system may become a tropical depression by the end of the weekend or over the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The eastern Pacific is already on its third named storm of the season, while nothing has yet developed in the Atlantic, where the first named storm will be Andrea.
Tropical Storm Barbara strengthened into a hurricane by the 11 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Barbara is the first hurricane-strength tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere 2025 season.
It was the latest first Northern Hemisphere hurricane since 1993, according to Philip Klotzbach, meteorologist at Colorado State University specializing in Atlantic basin seasonal hurricane forecasts.
Tropical Storm Cosme is expected to become a hurricane later today, June 9.
This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Location: 155 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph
Movement: northwest at 10 mph
At 11 a.m. ET June 9, the center of Hurricane Barbara was located 155 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico.
Barbara is moving toward the northwest near 10 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph with higher gusts. Some slight additional strengthening is possible today, but a weakening trend is forecast to begin on Tuesday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 10 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles.
AccuWeather forecasters said Barbara will bring flooding rainfall and coastal impacts to Mexico.
Swells generated by Barbara will affect portions of the coast of southwestern Mexico during the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions
Location: 620 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja, California
Maximum sustained winds: 65 mph
Movement: west-northwest at 6 mph
At 11 a.m. ET, the center of Tropical Storm Cosme was located 620 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja, California.
Cosme is moving toward the west-northwest near 6 mph and this general motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north with a decease in forward speed is expected tonight, followed by a faster north-northeast motion Tuesday through Wednesday.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph, with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is forecast, and Cosme is expected to become a hurricane later today.
Rapid weakening is expected Tuesday night and Wednesday. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center.
An area of low pressure is forecast to develop later this week south of southern Mexico.
Environmental conditions appear conducive for some gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form late this week or over the weekend.
Formation chance through 48 hours: low, near 0 percent
Formation chance through 7 days: medium, 60 percent
The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to Nov. 30. That's an extra two weeks beyond the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
The eastern Pacific basin extends from Mexico and Central America westward to 140°W, which is about midway between North America and Hawaii.
NOAA's prediction for the eastern Pacific hurricane season outlook was for a below-normal season, 50% chance. There is a 30% chance of a near-normal season and a 20% chance of an above-normal season.
Predictions for 2025 season:
Named storms: 12-18
Hurricanes: 5-10
Major hurricanes: 2-5
Based on a 30-year climate period from 1991 to 2020, an average eastern Pacific hurricane season has 15 named storms, eight hurricanes, and four major hurricanes. The first named storm typically forms in early to mid-June, the first hurricane tends to form in late June, and the first major hurricane forms in mid-July.
We will update our tropical weather coverage daily, primarily focusing on the Atlantic basin.
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This story was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Barbara strengthens into hurricane west of Mexico