• Disk view of the Earth focusing on the Pacific Ocean. Four tropical cyclones are labeled with their names in red text.
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    The GOES-15 satellite captured this image of a typhoon (Kilo), a hurricane (Jimena), a tropical storm (Ignacio), and a tropical depression (Fourteen E) on September 2, 2015. These storms may have different names, but they are all tropical cyclones. 

    Depending on their intensity, tropical cyclones that occur in the Northeast Pacific Basin are classified as either hurricanes (high intensity), tropical storms (medium intensity), or tropical depressions (low intensity). Typhoons are hurricanes that occur in the Northwest Pacific.

    This string of storms is likely caused by an ongoing El Niño, a warming of waters in the tropical Pacific.

  • Disk view of the Earth focusing on the Pacific Ocean. Four tropical cyclones are labeled with their names in red text.

Created:

September 02, 2015

ID#:

WEB15167-2015

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Smithsonian Institution

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