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Friday, September 4, 2026

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Earth · Friday, September 4, 2026

NASA: Pacific had a Category 4 and a Category 5 storm at once. The Atlantic season is quiet.

The File desk · Sep. 4, 2026, 8:08 a.m. ET

Confirmed1 primary sources

Status

Confirmed from the NASA Earth Observatory / NASA Science article fetched Sept. 4. Storm intensities after Sept. 3 are not updated in that article.
NASA Earth Observatory’s Image of the Day for Sept. 4, 2026, describes a Sept. 1 picture from the EPIC camera on the DSCOVR satellite. It shows three Pacific tropical cyclones — Lowell, Karina, and Marie — plus Atlantic Tropical Storm Edouard. As of Sept. 3, the Northeast Pacific had 15 named storms and six hurricanes. The Atlantic had five named storms and no hurricanes. Lowell reached Category 5 for several hours Sept. 2 while Karina hit Category 4 — a rare pair of Category 4 and 5 storms at the same time in the area. Atlantic accumulated cyclone energy was 4.4, about 9 percent of normal for the date. Northeast Pacific energy was 130, about 50 percent above normal, per Colorado State University statistics cited by NASA. Story by Adam Voiland. Image by Lauren Dauphin.
NASA Science / Earth Observatory, “A Trio of Tropical Cyclones in the Pacific”: at 1:14 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on September 1, NASA’s EPIC camera on the DSCOVR satellite captured three Pacific storms — Lowell, Karina, and Marie — with Tropical Storm Edouard visible over Louisiana and Texas in the Atlantic.
“As of September 3, the Northeast Pacific had produced 15 named storms and six hurricanes, well above the norm for that point in the season. The Atlantic basin … had produced just five named storms and no hurricanes.” “Lowell became the strongest, with winds reaching category 5 strength for several hours on September 2. Around the same time, Karina … achieved category 4 strength, a rare case of category 4 and 5 hurricanes occurring simultaneously in the area.”
“As of September 3, the Atlantic basin's total accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index was 4.4, about 9 percent of normal for that date, according to statistics compiled by Colorado State University meteorologists. Meanwhile, the Northeast Pacific basin's ACE was 130, about 50 percent above normal.”
Credit line: “NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using data from DSCOVR EPIC. Story by Adam Voiland.” Intensities after Sept. 3 are not updated in this article.
How we know

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Storm intensities after Sept. 3 are not updated in this article.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    A Trio of Tropical Cyclones in the Pacific

    NASA Earth Observatory / NASA Science · September 4, 2026

    Lowell became the strongest, with winds reaching category 5 strength for several hours on September 2. Around the same time, Karina achieved category 4 strength, a rare case of category 4 and 5 hurricanes occurring simultaneously in the area. As of September 3, the Atlantic basin's total accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index was 4.4, about 9 percent of normal for that date. The Northeast Pacific basin's ACE was 130, about 50 percent above normal.

    https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/a-trio-of-tropical-cyclones-in-the-pacific/