Hurricane Rachel reaches Category 3 intensity over the East Pacific
1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) Infrared Window images (above) displayed the cold cloud tops and gradual consolidation of a small and well-defined eye associated with Hurricane Rachel as it reached Category 3 intensity over the East Pacific Ocean (west of Mexico) on 01 October 2026. GLM Flash Points highlighted the intermittent lightning activity within deep convection surrounding the eye. The coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures were around -90 C (darker shades of purple).
Products from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site showed that Rachel was moving through an environment of low vertical wind shear and traversing warm water (Sea Surface Temperature | Ocean Heat Content) — factors which favored its intensification.
