Hector was a tropical storm in the North Pacific on Sunday evening Pacific time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest warning.
The tropical storm had sustained winds of 45 miles per hour.
All times on the map refer to Pacific Time. From the New York Times
Hector is the eighth named storm to form in the Eastern Pacific in 2024.
Where will it rain?
Flash flooding can also occur inland and away from the storm center. Even weaker storms can produce excessive rainfall that can flood low-lying areas.
What does the storm look like from above?
Satellite imagery can help determine the strength, size and composition of a storm. As a storm gets stronger, it’s more likely that an eye will form in the center. If the eye looks symmetrical, it often means the storm isn’t hitting anything that could weaken it.
Storms that form in the Atlantic or Pacific generally move westward, meaning Atlantic storms pose a greater threat to North America. If a storm forms near the coast in the Pacific, it can bring damaging winds and rain before moving out to sea.
Sometimes, however, an air mass can block a storm and drive it north or northeast toward the Baja California peninsula and the western coast of Mexico. Occasionally, a storm can move farther north, as was the case with Hurricane Hilary last year, which brought damaging winds and heavy rains to Southern California.
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season began on May 15, two weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Both seasons last until November 30.
Another factor for storm watchers this year is the likely development of La Niña, a periodic large-scale atmospheric phenomenon that can affect weather around the world.
In the Pacific Ocean, La Niña increases wind shear, which is the change in wind speed and/or direction with height. These changes make it more difficult for storms to form. (In the Atlantic, La Niña has the opposite effect: it reduces wind shear and increases the likelihood of storms forming.)
Sources and references
Tracking map Tracking data is from the National Hurricane Center. The map shows probabilities of 5 percent or more. The forecast is valid for up to five days, with that period beginning up to three hours before the reported time the storm reaches its last location. Wind speed probability data is not available north of 60.25 degrees north latitude.
Wind arrival table Arrival times are derived from a New York Times analysis of National Hurricane Center data. Geographic locations are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Natural Earth. Time zones are based on Google. The table shows the predicted arrival times of sustained, destructive winds of 58 mph or greater for selected cities that have a probability of those winds reaching them. When destructive winds reach a location, they have no more than a 10 percent chance of arriving before the “earliest reasonable” time and a 50 percent chance of arriving before the “most likely” time.
Satellite map Images are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Japanese Meteorological Agency via the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.
precipitation Map Data for multi-day forecasts or observed precipitation amounts come from the National Weather Service. The 1-day forecast comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
