Hurricane season heats up with three in the Pacific and one in the Atlantic

The tropics are heating up, just as the typical peak of hurricane season begins.

Three hurricanes were roaring Monday in the Pacific Ocean. And a fourth hurricane churned far out in the Atlantic. It's the most powerful hurricane season in the central Pacific since 1994, according to Colorado State University hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach.

Late August and early September are the typical peak of hurricane season.

None of these storms is forecast to strike the USA.

All three Pacific hurricanes reached Category 4 strength at one point on Sunday — something that's never been seen before, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Ignacio, weakened Monday to a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph, is expected to pass northeast of Hawaii through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. It was located Monday 460 miles east of Honolulu, moving to the northwest at 10 mph.

Massive 12-20-feet waves could crash against the northeastern shores of the islands, possibly damaging coastal homes and roads. Away from the shore, periods of breezy, wet weather are expected with locally heavy rain possible as the storm passes.

Forecasters said the storm should become a Category 1 hurricane by Tuesday and weaken into a tropical storm by midweek as it encounters southwesterly winds. Hurricane warnings are in effect for the waters around Hawaii, but none for land areas.

The other two hurricanes in the Pacific, Kilo and Jimena, are still massive Category 4 storms with winds of at least 130 mph, but they are not forecast to hit land.

The hurricanes are fueled by El Niño, a periodic natural warming of water in the central Pacific.

"An El Niño year usually means above-average activity in the Pacific, and this year is no exception," hurricane center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

A tropical depression also formed late Monday in the eastern Pacific, which should grow into Tropical Storm Kevin on Tuesday. The storm is expected to spin toward the Baja Peninsula of Mexico over the next several days.

In the Atlantic, Hurricane Fred pounded the Cape Verde Islands with wind and rain Monday, the hurricane center said.

The Cape Verde islands are an independent nation a few hundred miles west of the coast of Africa.

Fred is the first hurricane to pass through the Cape Verde Islands since 1892, the hurricane center said. It's also the easternmost Atlantic hurricane that ever formed in the tropics.

"The torrential rains of 4 to 6 inches predicted from Fred, with isolated totals of up to 10 inches, are likely to cause unprecedented flood damage on the islands," Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters said.

He said Fred could be the islands' most expensive natural disaster in history.

As of 5 p.m. ET, Fred had winds of 80 mph and was moving to the northwest at 12 mph. After moving away from the Cape Verdes, Fred should weaken and dissipate in the Atlantic over the next few days, the hurricane center said.

In the U.S., remnants of Tropical Storm Erika drenched portions of the Southeast and Florida with heavy rain Monday, causing some flash floods. Charleston, S.C., picked up 6.43 inches of rain Monday, making it the city's fifth-wettest day on record, the weather service said.