The third tropical storm of the season has formed in the eastern Pacific, while storms and hail plague the US Plains.

Hurricane Barbara and Tropical Storm Cosme mark the second and third named storms of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season.

Cosme was a tropical storm in the North Pacific Ocean Monday afternoon Mountain time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The tropical storm had sustained wind speeds of 70 miles per hour.

In focus: Storms that stall or move at a snail's pace near the coastline pile up water and prolong the coastal flooding potential. In addition, large battering waves over a longer period can worsen damage to the coastline, including severe beach erosion. This is because the winds blow onshore for a longer period.

While the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially started over a week ago, we are still without any named storms or any organized development expected for at least a week. Meanwhile, activity is blossoming in the Eastern Pacific.

There is an 80 percent chance that a tropical storm will form in the Eastern Pacific within the next seven days.

Fernand is a relatively new name. It’s only been used twice, in 2013 and 2019. Both versions of Fernand were tropical storms, and both made landfall in Mexico.

Maps from the National Weather Service show the path of Tropical Storm Barbara, which is heading north-northwest toward Southern California