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Environment

Five named tropical storms pictured in the Atlantic

By Michael Le Page

23 September 2020

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

NOAA

FIVE named tropical storms were present in the Atlantic on 14 September – only the second time this has happened since records began. The image here shows all five, plus tropical storm Karina in the Pacific. Most remained at sea, but Sally, which intensified into a category 2 hurricane, caused damage across the US Gulf Coast.

The 2020 hurricane season has been so active that all 21 names on the list for this year have been used. After storm Wilfred, which formed after this picture was taken, the US National Hurricane Center will use the names of Greek letters.

The number…

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