Fast facts
Where is? North Atlantic Ocean.
What is in the picture? Hurricanes Katia, Irma and Jose in an almost perfect line.
Which satellite took the picture? Suomi National Polar Orbit Partnership (NPP Suomi).
When was it taken? September 8, 2017.
In this 2017 satellite photo, a trio of hurricanes — including one of the most powerful tropical storms of the past decade — formed a nearly perfect line as they marched down “hurricane alley.” Some of the rotating storms, which initially appear to be in the wrong order, later made landfall in the US and Mexico.
The three hurricanes – Katia (left), Irma (middle) and Jose (right) – were observed by the Suomi NPP weather satellite, which is co-operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While they appear to be chasing each other, the storms are each traveling in a different direction: Katia made landfall in Mexico on September 9; Irma hit Florida on September 10; and Jose eventually washed up on the New England coast on September 22.
Most Atlantic hurricanes form in the same stretch of water between Northwest Africa and the Gulf of Mexico, called the hurricane lane. However, it is rare to see so many of them so close together – and form such a regimented line, according to NASA Earth Observatory.
Major Atlantic storms are named alphabetically based on the order they appear in each year hurricane season. So it may seem strange that Katia is ahead of Irma and Jose in line to make landfall.
However, the storms did not form in the order they appear in the image. Irma first formed on August 30 near the Cape Islands. Jose then appeared on September 5 in the mid-Atlantic, not far from where he is pictured. Katia also formed on September 5, shortly after Jose, but was born in Mexico’s Gulf of Campeche, which is why it’s closer to land in the picture.
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Hurricane Irma it was the most destructive of the three storms. According to National Weather Center. One person died directly from its winds, which reached a maximum speed of 210 km/h, while up to 33 people died indirectly from the storm.
At the time, Hurricane Irma was reported to have the largest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) — the total amount of wind energy generated over the lifetime of a tropical cyclone — of any tropical storm on global record, according to the Earth Observatory of NASA. However, later calculations reduced its power.
The all-time ace record was most recently broken in 2023 by Cyclone Freddywhich appeared in the Indian Ocean and made landfall three separate times, devastating parts of Madagascar and Mozambique.
Research has shown that the rise in ocean temperatures is man-made climate change HAVE likely made hurricanes more powerful on average. Some experts believe that we may have to create a new sixth hurricane category to keep track of future storms.
The upcoming 2024 season is expected to be particularly active, with up to 25 named storms are forecastbecause of record surface temperatures caused by the latter El Nino event. This year’s season has already started with a bang thanks to Hurricane Beryl, which formed at the beginning of the year than any other Category 5 hurricane on record.