Three Pacific Cyclones Churn Together as Atlantic Hurricane Season Stays Quiet

In spring 2026, hurricane forecasters predicted that El Niño — a periodic warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that shifts global weather patterns — would fuel above-normal Pacific storm activity while keeping the Atlantic season below normal. By early September, near the season's climatological peak, NASA's Earth Observatory reported those outlooks had held true: the eastern Pacific was buzzing with activity while the Atlantic stayed notably quiet.

As of September 3, the Northeast Pacific basin had produced 15 named storms and six hurricanes, well above normal for the date, while the Atlantic — hampered by unfavorable wind shear — had produced only five named storms and no hurricanes. El Niño typically boosts Pacific hurricane activity through unusually warm ocean waters, and suppresses Atlantic storms by shifting circulation patterns that make storms harder to sustain.

On September 1, NASA's EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) on the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) satellite photographed three Pacific cyclones churning at once alongside one storm in the Atlantic. The trio — Lowell, Karina and Marie — included Lowell, which reached category 5 strength for several hours on September 2, while Karina, a few thousand kilometers to the east, reached category 4 strength, a rare case of simultaneous category 4 and 5 hurricanes there. Marie, southwest of Baja California, was still a tropical storm in the image but strengthening as it moved northwest.

In the Atlantic, EPIC captured Tropical Storm Edouard over Louisiana and Texas shortly after landfall, bringing torrential rain and strong winds that downed trees and power lines; some areas received 15 to 24 inches (38 to 61 centimeters) of rain, per National Weather Service meteorologists. As of September 3, the Atlantic's accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index — combining storm intensity and duration — was 4.4, about 9 percent of normal, while the Northeast Pacific's ACE index was 130, about 50 percent above normal, per Colorado State University meteorologists.