California isn’t a place most Americans associate with tropical weather, but it’s taking a beating in 2026 from one of the most active eastern Pacific hurricane seasons in modern history.
For the second time ever, national forecasters issued a tropical storm watch for Southern California as Tropical Storm Rachel headed toward the region, bringing high tides, coastal flooding and drenching rain from Oct. 9-11. The first tropical storm watch was issued just three years earlier, for Hurricane Hilary.
