This week, six named storms were churning at the same time in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific regions, tying a record.
The Weather Channel said the number tied the record of combined named storms in the two areas.
National Hurricane Center forecaster Eric Blake wrote that the combined number might be a modern record.
September is the peak month for hurricane and tropical storm activity in the Atlantic basin.
“In September, ocean temperatures are nearly at their yearly peak, and shearing winds that can rip apart tropical storms and hurricanes are typically at their lowest,” the Weather Channel reported.
It added that “there have been as many as five active Atlantic tropical cyclones at once, which occurred Sept. 10-12, 1971. No more than two of those were hurricane strength at any one time.”
Imelda Hits Texas
Dangerous flash floods inundated parts of southeastern Texas on Thursday as Tropical Depression Imelda dumped the last of its rains, with the National Hurricane Center predicting rain totals up to 35 inches in some coastal areas, Reuters reported.Three days of rains in the Houston area stranded motorists on flooded roads, confined people to their homes and prompted the evacuation of at least one hospital, according to media reports, local officials and social media posts.
Millions of people in and around Houston and nearby western Louisiana remained under flash flood watches on Thursday as the National Weather Service predicted a final 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) of rainfall before petering out.