This hurricane season in the Pacific just set a record for activity

What the coverage shows

Both outlets frame the story as a record-setting Pacific hurricane season and both tie that to El Niño. The Washington Post says 2026 has become the busiest year on record for storm activity in the eastern and central tropical Pacific, while the Associated Press uses a specific measure of wind speed and longevity and says storms east of the international date line are the busiest ever. The AP is also the only one to mention other factors alongside El Niño.

Written by Crossfiled from the 2 headlines and extracts below, not from the articles themselves. It describes how the outlets framed this, not what happened. Open any headline for a summary of that article.