Fast facts
Where it is? North Atlantic Ocean.
what is in the photo? Hurricanes Katia, Irma and Jose in an almost perfect line.
Which satellite took the picture? Suomi National Polar Orbit Partnership (JE Suomi).
When was it taken? September 8, 2017.
In this 2017 satellite photo, a trio of hurricanes — including one of the strongest tropical storms of the past decade — formed a nearly perfect line as they marched down “hurricane alley.” Some of the swirling storms, which initially appear to be in the wrong order, later make landfall in the US and Mexico.
The three hurricanes—Katia (left), Irma (center), and Jose (right)—were captured by the Suomi NPP weather satellite, jointly operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While they appear to follow each other, each storm is moving in a different direction: Katia made landfall in Mexico on September 9; Irma hit Florida on September 10; and Jose finally dissipated off the coast of New England on September 22.
Most Atlantic hurricanes form in the same stretch of water between northwest Africa and the Gulf of Mexico, called the hurricane alley. But it’s rare to see so many of them so close together – and to form such a regimented line NASA Earth Observatory.
Great Atlantic storms are named alphabetically according to the order in which they appear in individual years hurricane season. So it might seem strange that Katia is in line ahead of both Irma and Jose to make landfall.
However, the storms did not form in the order in which they appear in the picture. Irma formed first, on August 30, near the African Cape Verde Islands. Jose appeared next on September 5 in the mid-Atlantic, not far from where he is in the photo. Katia also formed on September 5, shortly after Jose, but was born in Mexico’s Gulf of Campeche and is therefore closest to land in the photo.
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Hurricane Irma was the most destructive of the three storms. This powerful Category 5 storm unleashed storm surges up to 8 feet (2.5 meters) high, dropping up to 50 centimeters of rain in certain areas and spawning at least five separate tornadoes. National Weather Center. One person was killed directly by its winds, which reached a maximum speed of 130 mph (210 km/h), while the storm killed up to 33 people indirectly.
At the time, Hurricane Irma was reported to have the largest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE)—the total amount of wind energy generated during the lifetime of a tropical cyclone—of any tropical storm worldwide, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. However, calculations later reduced its performance.
The all-time ACE record was recently broken in 2023 by Cyclone Freddywhich emerged in the Indian Ocean and made landfall three times, decimating parts of Madagascar and Mozambique.
Research has shown that rising ocean temperatures are man-made climate change have hurricanes are likely to have strengthened on average. Some experts believe us it may be necessary to create a new sixth hurricane category track future storms.
The upcoming 2024 season is expected to be particularly active predicted up to 25 named stormsdue to record surface temperatures caused by recent El Nino event. This year’s season has already started with a bang thanks to Hurricane Beryl, which was created at the beginning of the year than any other Category 5 hurricane on record.