Hurricane Impacts at Home: How Pacific storms are reaching Michiana 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- If you haven't noticed, this has been an unusually quiet hurricane season in the Atlantic. So far this season, there have been no named hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. The 2026 season has surpassed its "statistical peak" season, which was around Sept. 10, breaking a 60-year record for the least active start.  

There have been a few named tropical storms in the Atlantic basin, with only one nearly crossing over to the hurricane criteria. Tropical Storm Fay had maximum sustained winds of 69 mph; but to become a hurricane, a storm needs 74 mph sustained winds. 

NOAA Hurricane Season expert, Nick Novella, provided a statement explaining, " From an outlook perspective, NOAA's Extended Prediction Division expects activity to be below-normal in the Atlantic basin and above-normal in the Pacific basin by the end of the season."

NOAA actually increased their likelihood of a less active season from 55 percent in May to 75 percent in August. This suppression of cyclone activity is because of El Nino providing less favorable winds and cooler ocean waters—making storm development more difficult. 

Unlike the Atlantic, the East and Central Pacific have already named 20 tropical storms and 10 hurricanes so far this season, and seven of them being major hurricanes. A.C.E or Accumulated Cyclone Energy is a metric used to measure and compare overall tropical cyclone activity. In the North Atlantic, the A.C.E measurement is 10.8. In the Northeast Pacific, it's 270.

At one time, there were three hurricanes with over 105 mph winds in the Pacific at once, making this only the third time it's happened on record. Those Pacific storms are wreaking havoc on the west coast, with the remnants of these storms causing life-threatening flooding. Now, some of those very same storms are impacting Michiana.

Hurricane Polo has already made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula, and its rainfall and moisture has been carried by upper-level winds all the way here. Rain showers from the cyclone will continue to impact the area by the end of the week. 

So, while Michiana isn't directly impacted by hurricanes and tropical storms in Michiana, we are indirectly impacted by their rainfall and sometimes their wind thousands of miles away.