2017 North Atlantic Hurricane Season Simulation

This visualization, created using simulated infrared brightness temperature data at 6-kilometer resolution, shows cloud patterns across the Western Hemisphere from September 5-30, 2017. At the start of the simulation, generated using NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model, you can see Hurricane Irma in the Atlantic. On September 5, Irma strengthened into a strong and “potentially catastrophic” category 5 hurricane. On September 7, 2017, hurricanes Katia (left, Category 1), Irma (center, Category 5), and Jose (right, Category 3) lined up across the Atlantic basin. The Atlantic hasn’t had three hurricanes at once since 2010 when hurricanes Igor, Julia, and Karl marched across the tropics—storms that also begin with letters I, J, and K. Later in the month, hurricane Maria reached Category 5 strength on September 18, just before making landfall on Dominica. On September 20, an eyewall replacement cycle took place, weakening Maria to a high-end Category 4 hurricane by the time it struck Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria is regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica and Puerto Rico.