NASA: Pacific hosts rare Category 4 and 5 storms at once; Atlantic ACE near 9% of normal

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 DSCOVR 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.