El Niño drives Pacific hurricane surge while Atlantic stays quiet
The Northeast Pacific has produced six hurricanes by early September, well above normal. The Atlantic remains unusually quiet due to El Niño's influence.
El Niño creates unusually warm ocean water in the Pacific. This fuels hurricane activity and shifts wind patterns in ways that suppress Atlantic storms.
By September 3, the Northeast Pacific had 15 named storms and six hurricanes, well above normal for that point in the season. The Atlantic had just five named storms and no hurricanes.
On September 1, NASA captured three tropical cyclones in the Pacific. Lowell became a Category 5 hurricane.
Karina reached Category 4. Marie, still a tropical storm, was strengthening.
- 15 named storms, 6 hurricanes
- Northeast Pacific storms by Sept 3
- 5 named storms, 0 hurricanes
- Atlantic storms by Sept 3
- Category 5
- Lowell peak strength
- September 1
- NASA observation date
Why it mattersEl Niño patterns affect where and how intensely hurricanes form. This helps forecasters predict seasonal risk and prepares affected regions.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, but El Niño influences Southern Hemisphere weather systems and cyclone patterns that affect Australia's tropical regions.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 49 d ago
Open this story in InSnip →
