Powerful Storms Continue to Prowl the Pacific

Hurricanes Polo and Nolo sent destructive effects ashore amid an active season in the northeastern and central Pacific. Powerful Storms Continue to Prowl the Pacific. NASA Earth Observatory Sep 30, 2026 Article View more Images of the Day: Sep 29, 2026 Instruments: DSCOVR — EPIC Suomi NPP — VIIRS Topics: Cyclones The northeastern and central Pacific basins are busy with tropical cyclone activity in this image acquired with NASA’s EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) on the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) satellite on September 27, 2026.

A band of clouds and thunderstorms associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is visible near the center of the image. NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin The 2026 tropical cyclone season in the northeastern and central Pacific basins has been busy. By September 28, the number of named storms in the region had grown to 20, of which nine had reached hurricane strength.

For comparison, the 1991-2020 average by that date is 13.5 named storms with 7.4 hurricanes. An image from NASA’s EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) on the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) satellite, acquired on September 27, shows the basin again rife with powerful storms. Hurricane Nolo near Hawaii and Hurricane Polo off the Baja California peninsula were lashing land with high winds, storm surge, and heavy rain.

On either side of Polo, Tropical Storm Rachel and Post-Tropical Cyclone Odalys were contributing to treacherous conditions along the Mexican coast and in the southwestern U.S., respectively.