- All-time Pacific Category 5 hurricane record broken in 2026?7¢7%
The 2026 eastern Pacific season’s record ACE of 331.2 and three Category 5 hurricanes (Genevieve, Lowell, Polo) have not altered the all-time intensity benchmark, as Polo’s 180 mph winds and 892 mb pressure fell short of Hurricane Patricia’s 2015 marks. Official NHC data through mid-October show no subsequent storms exceeding those thresholds amid late-season conditions, with Simon at Category 4 and Trudy forecast to reach major intensity but face increasing shear. Historical precedent indicates that surpassing the Saffir-Simpson Category 5 record requires rare rapid intensification under optimal ocean heat and low shear, factors that have not aligned beyond existing limits this year. Traders therefore assign 62.5% implied probability to “No,” reflecting the gap between seasonal hyperactivity and the specific all-time wind or pressure threshold required for market resolution.
Rules
This market will resolve to "Yes" if four or more distinct tropical cyclones are assigned Category 5 intensity while located in the Pacific Ocean north of the equator and east of the International Date Line between January 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. Otherwise, this market will resolve to "No". The record for this area is three in a single calendar year. A tropical cyclone is assigned Category 5 intensity when an operational advisory reports a maximum sustained wind speed (1-minute average) of at least 157 mph, corresponding to Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Operational advisories for this area are issued by the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Each tropical cyclone counts once toward the total, no matter how many advisories or how many separate periods report it at Category 5 intensity. Hurricane Genevieve, Hurricane Lowell and Hurricane Polo have each been assigned Category 5 intensity in 2026 and each count toward this total, so one additional tropical cyclone is required for this market to resolve to "Yes". A tropical cyclone in any other basin, including the Atlantic, will not be considered for resolution. Being assigned Category 5 intensity at any single advisory within this period is sufficient for a tropical cyclone to count, regardless of its intensity at any other time. Once a fourth qualifying tropical cyclone has been reported at Category 5 intensity, this market will resolve to "Yes" regardless of that storm's subsequent intensity. This market will resolve based on the operational advisory data issued for a storm while it is active. Any revision to a storm's peak intensity or category published later in a post-storm best-track report or Tropical Cyclone Report will not be considered for resolution. If a correction to an advisory is issued to fix a clerical error, the corrected advisory will govern. The primary resolution source for this market will be the operational advisories issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/); however, a consensus of credible reporting may also be used.