Publication Date October 22, 2015 | Mashable

21 hurricanes and typhoons that shattered records in 2015

United States
Relationship between El Nino, La Nina and ENSO neutral years and the Pacific Ocean ACE Index. Image: Philip Klotzbach
Relationship between El Nino, La Nina and ENSO neutral years and the Pacific Ocean ACE Index. Image: Philip Klotzbach

The combination of El Niño, other natural climate cycles and global warming have supercharged this year's tropical cyclone season in the northern hemisphere to the point where all-time records have been blown away. Specifically, there have now been 21 typhoons and hurricanes in the hemisphere — all but one of which occurred in the Pacific Ocean — that have reached the most intense levels of the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category 4 and 5. This beat the past record of 18, set in 2004