Hurricane Genevieve on Monday became the first Category 5 storm in the eastern Pacific Ocean since Hurricane Kristy in 2024, with winds peaking at 160 mph, and the strongest July Cat 5 in the basin since 2002. … The hurricane’s remarkable intensification is fueled by a deep pool of anomalously warm water directly linked to the rapidly strengthening El Niño, which works to greatly warm sea surface temperatures in this part of the ocean. … It also means that the hurricane season will last longer. That distinction itself is important for California. Typically, water temperatures are starting to cool down in October and November, marking the tail end of hurricane season. With El Niño still strengthening, that window for tropical cyclone development will last longer into fall when the atmospheric pattern that governs our weather is set to change.

Other El Niño news:

• Los Angeles Times: Hurricane Genevieve to bring massive swells, life-threatening surf, rip currents to SoCal
• KRCB (Rohnert Park, Calif.): El Niño in Northern California: What Sonoma County could expect this year
• SFGate: Warming seas have less oxygen. California experts say that’s really bad.
• San Francisco Chronicle: Opinion: San Francisco isn’t ready for this year’s El Niño
• National Law Review: Blog: El Niño is coming – what California industrial facilities need to know about stormwater compliance