Hurricane Lowell in Hawaii briefly reached category 5 strength on September 2, becoming the strongest of three tropical cyclones spinning at once in the Pacific. NASA's EPIC camera on DSCOVR captured the setup a day earlier, with Lowell, Karina and Marie in the Pacific and one storm in the Atlantic.
Lowell held category 5 strength for several hours. Karina reached category 4 around the same time, while Marie remained a tropical storm and was strengthening as it moved northwest.
NASA EPIC On September 1
At 1:14 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on September 1, NASA's EPIC camera on DSCOVR recorded the three Pacific storms alongside the Atlantic system. Lauren Dauphin was credited with the NASA Earth Observatory image, and Adam Voiland wrote the story.
The image put three named Pacific cyclones in one frame: Lowell, Karina and Marie. The Pacific and Atlantic were moving in opposite directions that week, with the Pacific active and The Atlantic quiet.
El Niño And The Atlantic
As of September 3, the Northeast Pacific had produced 15 named storms and six hurricanes, while the Atlantic basin had produced five named storms and no hurricanes. The Atlantic basin's accumulated cyclone energy index was 4.4, compared with 130 in the Northeast Pacific.
That pattern fit the seasonal outlooks tied to El Niño. Forecasters had expected below-normal Atlantic activity and above-normal northeastern and central Pacific activity because of an El Niño brewing in the Pacific.
Beyond the satellite view, Tropical Storm Edouard brought 15 to 24 inches of rain, or 38 to 61 centimeters, after landfall over Louisiana and Texas. The source says Lowell was forecast to turn northward, and it does not say whether Hurricane Lowell affected Hawaii or was expected to affect Hawaii.
