By AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Aug. 8, 2020 11:27 AM
After more than 10 days since Douglas dissipated northwest of Hawaii, the East Pacific is forecast to come alive in the coming week.
"For a variety of reasons, conditions have not been favorable in the eastern Pacific Ocean for nearly two weeks," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.
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But now, warm waters off the southern coast of Mexico could be the breeding ground for not one, but possibly two tropical systems next week.
"Ocean water temperatures are 86 to 88 degrees F (near 31 C), which combined with low wind shear, makes for a favorable environment for a budding tropical depression," explained Doll.
As several disturbances look to move across Central America through the middle of August, they will move into this favorable zone. The first of which looks to emerge late this weekend.
"Any tropical system that develops looks to slide mostly parallel to the southern Mexican coastline; however, locally drenching thunderstorms may be possible into Monday before the wave moves out into the warmer zone in the East Pacific," added Doll.
Shipping interests in the region should be aware of rougher seas stirred up by these tropical features, and stronger rip currents may be noticeable at the southern Mexico beaches.
It is not out of the question that this first tropical low could strengthen rapidly, becoming a tropical storm, especially during the first half of next week.
Following closely behind, the second feature looks less likely to develop during the second half of the week. However, it could track closer to the Mexico coastline.
The next storm to be named in the East Pacific Ocean Basin will gain the name Elida.
The last time the name Elida was used was in 2014 for a tropical storm that formed late in June of that year. The 2014 East Pacific tropical season was the fifth-busiest in history with 22 named storms and nine major hurricanes. Meanwhile, the Atlantic Ocean Basin only had nine named storms total that season.
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"The Atlantic and Pacific Basins are connected in a way when it comes to tropical development. Usually, during the time that the Atlantic Ocean is very active with several storms, the East Pacific will be quieter, and visa versa," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
Large-scale weather patterns like El Nino, and La Niña are some of the factors that contribute to which basin is active when.
"As the East Pacific looks to turn more active through mid-August, the focus is likely to return to the Atlantic Basin by the end of the month," said Doll.
After having a stretch of five record-earliest named tropical systems in a row for the Atlantic 2020 season, ending with Isaias, AccuWeather meteorologists are still monitoring a few tropical waves in the Atlantic Ocean for potential development through mid-August.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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