Hurricane Genevieve is slowly unwinding as Dolphin reaches super typhoon status near Wake Island.
AccuWeather’s Jon Porter monitors the equatorial Pacific where El Niño conditions are leading to rising sea surface temperatures. This will lead to more tropical activity in the Pacific region.
The eastern and central Pacific have become very active, with Hurricane Genevieve becoming the season’s first Category 5 while churning off the coast of Mexico. Meanwhile, Dolphin, north of the Marshall Islands, near Wake Island, has reached Super Typhoon status.
A busy Pacific hurricane season was expected due to the development and strengthening of El Niño. This warm plume of water creates ideal conditions for tropical storms and hurricanes to form and strengthen in the Pacific.
A tropical depression formed on the morning of July 24, well off the coast of Mexico, and became Tropical Storm Genevieve several hours later. A day later, on Saturday, Genevieve became a hurricane. Twenty-four hours later, on Sunday, Genevieve intensified rapidly and became a powerful Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. During the overnight hours on Sunday, Genevieve’s maximum winds reached 160 mph — a Category 5 hurricane.
This image, captured early Monday morning on July 27, 2026, shows Category 5 Hurricane Genevieve with 160-mph maximum sustained winds. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
“While eastern Pacific Major Hurricane Genevieve poses no direct threat to land, it has become the most powerful hurricane in the waters surrounding North and Central America this year and the first Category 5 hurricane since Kristy in 2024,” AccuWeather’s Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said.
Typhoon Dolphin, Fausto, and Hurricane Genevieve are seen spinning in the Pacific Ocean July 27-28, 2026. (NOAA/CIRA)
As of Thursday morning, Genevieve was a 90-mph, Category 1 hurricane. The hurricane will track northwest through the end of the week.
Genevieve will continue to lose wind intensity this week and become a tropical storm by the weekend. Massive swells generated by the powerful storm will extend outward from the center and reach the west coast of Mexico and California as sets of large waves that could pose dangers to small craft and swimmers.
More than 2,000 miles southwest of Hawaii, just north of the Marshall Islands, Super Typhoon Dolphin formed in the middle of the Pacific earlier this week.
This image, captured on Wednesday morning, July 29, 2026, shows 140-mph Typhoon Dolphin approaching Wake Islands in the central Pacific. Dolphin’s maximum sustained winds are forecast to reach 170-180 mph. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
Super Typhoon Dolphin intensified rapidly from Monday to Tuesday before intensifying even further later Wednesday into Wednesday night, and currently has maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. Dolphin’s winds had plateaued temporarily on Wednesday (local time) due to an eyewall replacement cycle, but intensification quickly resumed once this completed. It is forecast to slightly intensify Thursday, gaining wind speeds approaching 170 mph as it narrowly passes southwest of Wake Island and continues northwestward. Dolphin will then slowly lose wind intensity into early next week. As massive swells radiate outward from the storm’s center, heavy, dangerous surf will reach many islands in the region.
Both Dolphin and Genevieve are very dangerous storms for cross-Pacific shipping.
Numerous tropical storms and hurricanes are forecast for the eastern and central Pacific basins in 2026, due to the impacts of El Niño.
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