Weather tracker: Hurricanes in the Pacific, butnone yet this season in the Atlantic
The current record for the latest Atlantic hurricane formation could be broken this year
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Joe Williams and Alice Nightingale-Smith4 Sept 2026, 11:52 amUpdated 1h ago3 min readEnvironmentEnvironment
Environment — Joe Williams and Alice Nightingale-Smith
Weather tracker: Hurricanes in the Pacific, but none yet this season in the Atlantic
There are currently two category 4 hurricanes and one category 1 hurricane in the Pacific at the same time. Meanwhile, the Atlantic has been devoid of hurricanes so far this season, making it only the eighth year in the satellite era (about 1960 to present) to go into September without a hurricane. Forecast activity remains quiet for the next seven days at least. This means there is a chance the current record for the latest Atlantic hurricane formation – 11 September in 2002 and in 2013 – will be broken.
Category 1 Hurricane Marie, category 3 Hurricane Karina, and category 4 Hurricane Lowell are spinning around in the Pacific. The National Hurricane Centre says there is too much uncertainty around Lowell to determine potential impacts on Hawaii, whereas Marie and Karina are not currently expected to have any impacts and should stay in open waters.
On average, there are only eight Pacific hurricanes a year according to the NHC, so to have three at the same time is very unusual. This isn’t the first time this has happened, though. Back in 2015, there were also three hurricanes in the Pacific simultaneously. All three were category 4 strength.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall in Louisiana at 11.25 UTC (12.25 BST) on 1 September, bringing strong gusts, heavy rain and flooding. These impacts were mostly felt in south-west Louisiana and south-east Texas, the highest wind gust being 69mph at the Beaumont/Port Arthur airport. The resulting disruption included power outages and school closures. Flash flooding continues to be a risk across east-central Texas this week.
Other parts of Texas have been under an extreme heat warning this week. The heat index value – a measure of how hot it “feels” to the body when humidity is combined with air temperature – has reached up to 46C (114.8F) for the southern tip of the state. The National Weather Service has highlighted heat-related illnesses as the main potential effect.
Parts of Europe have just come to the end of their warmest summer on record. Countries such as the UK, France and Belgium have broken their mean temperature records by large margins. France exceeded its previous record by 0.8C, previously set in 2003; while the UK exceeded its previous record by 0.4C, set in 2025. Not all data has been released yet, but it is almost certain that more countries will follow.
Category 1 Hurricane Marie, category 3 Hurricane Karina, and category 4 Hurricane Lowell are spinning around in the Pacific. The National Hurricane Centre says there is too much uncertainty around Lowell to determine potential impacts on Hawaii, whereas Marie and Karina are not currently expected to have any impacts and should stay in open waters.
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Source: theguardian.com · Joe Williams and Alice Nightingale-Smith. Published 4 Sept 2026, 11:52 am.
