Tropical Depression Twenty-Two-E has formed south of Mexico and is forecast to become Tropical Storm Vance, while Super Typhoon Champi already ranks among the strongest storms on Earth this year after brushing Guam.
A new system has organized in the eastern Pacific several hundred miles south of southern Mexico, and forecasters say it is on track to earn a name within days.
FOX Weather reported that Invest 94E developed into Tropical Depression Twenty-Two-E, with a high chance of becoming the next named storm over the next seven days. If it takes the name Vance, it would be the first V-named storm in the eastern Pacific since 2018.
At the same time, Super Typhoon Champi continues to churn in the western Pacific after sweeping past Guam, posting wind speeds that place it among the most powerful storms recorded in any basin this year.
The FOX Forecast Center said warm waters are supporting development, and a Tehuantepecer wind event, strong offshore winds funneled through Mexico’s Chivela Pass, could help the system tighten up.
Those winds, the center said, could “help concentrate moisture and encourage a disturbance to organize into a tropical depression or storm.”
Current guidance is clear on the near-term path.
The FOX Forecast Center stated:
"Current forecast has Tropical Depression Twenty-Two-E becoming a tropical storm overnight Wednesday into Thursday."
Takeaway language in the same report pointed to hurricane strength by Friday if the system continues to organize. Forecast models also sketch an initial northwest turn before a slight bend back toward Mexico.
The center put it this way:
"Forecast models suggest the system could initially move northwest before turning back slightly toward Mexico"
No landfall is locked in. The depression remains well offshore for now, several hundred miles south of southern Mexico, as forecasters watch whether the environment keeps feeding it.
While Twenty-Two-E is still gathering strength, Champi has already delivered a serious punch in the western Pacific.
Over the weekend the typhoon quickly swept through Guam with conditions equal to a Category 4 storm and wind gusts as strong as 150 mph. Its eye passed just 10 miles off the southern tip of the island, then moved west of the southern Mariana Islands.
Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said the island saw minimal damage. Footage shared by X user David Hall, routed through Storyful and FOX Weather, showed palm trees swaying hard in driving rain as the storm moved through.
On Sunday the storm went through an eyewall replacement cycle and weakened slightly before resuming its climb. Satellite imagery credited to CIRA captured Champi on Oct. 20, 2026, as it remained a dominant feature over open water.
FOX Weather reported sustained winds of 165 mph and gusts as strong as 225 mph, tying Super Typhoon Sinlaku as the strongest storm in any basin this year. The same report later cited sustained winds of 185 mph as Champi continued to intensify.
That kind of power is rare even in an active season. Ferocious winds, intense rainfall, and thunderstorms remain the baseline expectation around the core.
Champi is expected to gradually weaken as it approaches southern Japan, but the forecast track still curves northwest later this week. The Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa, and northern Taiwan are under threat as the system flexes toward Eastern Asia.
No dollar damage totals, injury counts, or fatality figures beyond the governor’s “minimal damage” assessment appeared in the available reporting. Advisory coordinates, central pressure, and exact movement speeds were not laid out in full detail either.
What is plain is the split-screen across the Pacific: a brand-new depression organizing off Mexico with a clear shot at the name Vance, and a super typhoon that has already posted some of the highest winds seen anywhere on the planet this year.
Residents and mariners on both sides of the ocean now have the same job, watch the next advisory, not the last one. Nature does not wait for political calendars, and neither should the people in the path.
