Three Pacific Hurricanes Threaten Hawaii and Southern California
Left 50%
Center 0%
Right 50%
1 left · 0 center · 1 right
What happened
Three hurricanes named Karina, Lowell, and Marie are active in the Pacific Ocean, with two reaching major hurricane status this week. Lowell is forecast to turn north toward Hawaii, potentially affecting Oahu and Kauai, while Karina east of the islands is expected to weaken over open water. Marie, located hundreds of miles off Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, may generate swells affecting Mexico's southwestern coast and tropical moisture that could reach Southern California. Hawaii continues recovering from heavy rain and flash flooding over the last six months, including Tropical Storm Lala and March events that brought more than 25 inches of rain to parts of Oahu.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 2 articles
1 of 2 articles cite a named source for the story. It started with unnamed sources; a named source appeared 2 hours later.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 1 of 2
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: National Hurricane Center, NOAA and Daniel Gilford
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 2
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 2
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 2
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 4, 13:52 UTC by Breitbart, with no named source. First named source 2 hours later, from NBC News.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage treats the three hurricanes as a climate event powered by El Niño, a cause right-leaning coverage never names. The NBC News account calls that activity "on brand for El Niño." That coverage says this year's event is likely to become the strongest on record. Scientists there say about 94 percent of the Pacific has been in heat-wave conditions since January. Right-leaning coverage instead reports a local weather threat and a possible California rainmaker, with no explanation for why three storms are spinning at once.
The two sides also split on tone when they turn to Southern California. Left-leaning coverage describes Marie's California reach as "strong swells." Right-leaning coverage uses "potentially beneficial rain showers" for the same storm's leftover moisture.
How much rain or damaging wind is actually forecast for Kauai or Southern California if the present tracks hold?
Bottom line
NBC News headlined the three storms as showing the power of El Niño; Breitbart never used that term and said flooding is not expected in Southern California.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- NOAA’s forecast gave this El Niño a 69% chance of becoming the strongest on record, and the three hurricanes are described as activity consistent with El Niño
- Hurricane Lowell reached Category 5 strength Wednesday before weakening
- More than 25 inches of rain fell in some parts of Oahu during March floods, and Hawaii is still recovering from those floods and from Tropical Storm Lala
- Kauai County Public Information Officer Meghan Wright said facilities are being readied so they can be activated before hazardous conditions arrive
- Forecasters so far do not expect flooding in Southern California
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres said El Niño is being supersized before our eyes
The Left View
Left-leaning sources such as NBC News frame the Pacific activity as on-brand for El Niño, particularly a likely “super El Niño” that NOAA last month gave a 69% chance of becoming the strongest on record, with waters at least 2 degrees Celsius above average. They cite a marine heat wave affecting about 94% of the Pacific since January and scientist Daniel Gilford’s analogy that extra ocean heat acts like additional “fuel” allowing storms to become more intense, while El Niño simultaneously makes the Atlantic less conducive to storms. Coverage notes a Science study finding El Niño events have strengthened since humans started burning fossil fuels, and quotes UN Secretary-General António Guterres that El Niño is “being supersized before our eyes,” the planet is in “uncharted waters,” and the world is in the “danger zone of extreme weather,” presenting the situation as a call to climate action.
The Right View
Right-leaning sources such as Breitbart describe the activity as a weather event with mixed local effects, including potentially beneficial rain for Southern California without expected flooding (but with surf and rip-current hazards), a greater threat to Hawaii where Kauai facilities are being prepared, and one storm expected to remain over open ocean. Coverage relies on National Hurricane Center forecasts and statements from local officials such as Kauai’s public information officer.
Our Take (balanced)
Left-leaning sources’ strongest argument is that the elevated Pacific storm activity is characteristic of a super El Niño occurring against a backdrop of extreme marine heat (94 percent of the Pacific in heat-wave conditions) and possibly intensified by climate change, as evidenced by NOAA’s record-strength probability, Gilford’s fuel analogy, the Science study, and Guterres’s “supersized” and “danger zone” language. Right-leaning sources’ strongest argument is the differentiated, near-term forecast of mostly contained or even beneficial impacts—rain without flooding in Southern California, offshore weakening, and specific Hawaiian island preparations—supported by hurricane-center guidance and local officials. The central unresolved tension is whether the event’s significance lies primarily in illustrating climate-amplified El Niño or in the operational weather details that determine actual local outcomes.
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