June 17, 2026

2 min read

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The first Atlantic tropical storm of 2026 is here—and it used to be a Pacific cyclone

Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and will bring heavy rains and potential flash flooding to the Southeast

By Andrea Thompson edited by Claire Cameron

A cluster of clouds over the Gulf Coast of Texas, with more scattered clouds visible across the Southeast.

A view from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-East satellite showing Tropical Storm Arthur on June 17, 2026.

NOAA

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The first named storm of the Atlantic season is here—and it has formed from the dregs of the third named storm of the eastern Pacific hurricane season.

Tropical Storm Arthur, which has formed off the coast of Texas, was born in part from the remnants of Tropical Storm Christina, which had a brief and erratic existence in the eastern Pacific. Those remnants migrated over Central America, emerging over the Gulf of Mexico, where they combined with another atmospheric disturbance to make Arthur.

“Arthur’s genesis, like most genesis events in the western Gulf, was messy, but I think a westward-moving tropical wave was probably the primary seed for this system, with a boost from Christina’s remnants,” says Phil Klotzbach, an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University, who studies hurricanes.

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Arthur and Christina aren’t technically considered the same storm, but there have been previous events where storms have survived crossing over Central America somewhat intact, if weakened. Usually, however, these crossings progress from the opposite direction as this one. Some 21 previous storms are recognized as crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or vice versa. Of these, only five crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The most recent crossings were those of Tropical Storm Bonnie and Tropical Storm Julia in 2022, and both were from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Klotzbach says.

In 2000 the National Hurricane Center (NHC) determined that storms that made the crossings and retained at least tropical storm strength would keep their original name.

As for why the Pacific is on its third storm and the Atlantic is only on its first: this is not unusual because the beginning of the Pacific season is in mid-May versus the Atlantic season’s June 1 start date. And this year’s El Niño will likely amplify Pacific storms, whereas the phenomenon tends to quash development in the Atlantic.

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Andrea Thompson is senior desk editor for life science at Scientific American, covering the environment, energy and earth sciences. She has been covering these issues for nearly two decades. Prior to joining Scientific American, she was a senior writer covering climate science at Climate Central and a reporter and editor at Live Science, where she primarily covered earth science and the environment. She has moderated panels, including as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Media Zone, and appeared in radio and television interviews on major networks. She holds a graduate degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University, as well as a B.S. and an M.S. in atmospheric chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Follow Thompson on Bluesky @andreatweather.bsky.social

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