At the same time, Hurricane Nolo was moving away from Hawaii. Despite its distance, the storm dumped torrential rain on the Big Island, causing flash flooding and road closures. The Hawaii National Guard rescued 19 people from flooded areas, highlighting the lingering danger even as Nolo drifted northwest.

Further south, Tropical Storm Rachel was forming off Mexico’s southwest coast. The National Hurricane Center reported maximum sustained winds of 96 km/h and a position about 400 km south‑southwest of Acapulco. No coastal watches were in effect, but the system added to the already busy Pacific basin.

National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec said Pacific storm activity was above average this season, a pattern that matches typical El Niño years.

Meteorologists explain that El Niño warms the central and eastern Pacific, reducing wind shear and creating more favorable conditions for tropical cyclones. The result this year is an unusually busy season, with three significant systems threatening widely separated regions—from Mexico’s coast to Hawaii and the U.S. Southwest—at once.