Hurricane Crossing

  • Released Thursday, September 10, 2015

In late August 2015, NASA satellites saw not one but three storms develop in the Pacific Ocean and intensify into Category 4 hurricanes with maximum sustained winds of up to 150 mph. The storms, named Kilo, Ignacio, and Jimena, formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean and initially headed west toward the Hawaiian Islands. Satellites spotted Kilo on August 21, followed by Ignacio on August 25, and Jimena on August 26. Both Ignacio and Jimena have since petered out. But after more than 21 days, Kilo continues on. Scientists say Kilo is one of the longest-lasting storms observed since satellite records began in the early 1960s. Explore the images for views of each storm captured from space.

Image of Ignacio captured by NASA's TERRA satellite as the storm passed north of the Hawaiian Islands  on Sept. 1, 2015

Image of Ignacio captured by NASA's TERRA satellite as the storm passed north of the Hawaiian Islands on Sept. 1, 2015

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of Jimena on Sept. 1, 2015.

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of Jimena on Sept. 1, 2015.

View of Kilo (left), Ignacio (center), and Jimena (right) assembled from multiple images taken by NASA's Aqua satellite on Sept. 3, 2015.

View of Kilo (left), Ignacio (center), and Jimena (right) assembled from multiple images taken by NASA's Aqua satellite on Sept. 3, 2015.



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of NOAA-NASA GOES Project
Satellite images courtesy of NASA/GSFC/MODIS Rapid Response Team

Release date

This page was originally published on Thursday, September 10, 2015.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:49 PM EDT.