Hurricane Genevieve weakened to a Category 1 hurricane Thursday morning, after reaching Category 5 strength on Monday. It became the Eastern Pacific’s first Category 5 storm since 2024.
Dry air is now beginning to impinge on the western side of the storm. As it moves over progressively cooler water temperatures and into a drier airmass, Genevieve will continue to gradually weaken. The storm is expected to dissipate early next week about 1,000 miles north of Hawaii, posing no threat to land, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Swells generated by Hurricane Genevieve are affecting portions of the Baja California Peninsula and reaching Southern California. These swells are expected to persist for several days, creating life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, as warned by the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Genevieve is also the Northern Hemisphere’s first major hurricane of the 2026 season, across both the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific basins.
The storm is currently moving northwest across the open waters of the Eastern Pacific with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It is gradually weakening as it moves over cooler waters and into a drier air mass.
The storm is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm Thursday night or early Friday before becoming post-tropical this weekend, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Hurricane Genevieve was named over the weekend and quickly intensified into a Category 5 storm within 24 hours.
For perspective, typically, the average date for a Category 3 hurricane in the eastern Pacific is July 15.