At a Glance

The Atlantic has had a busier-than-average hurricane season so far in 2019.Tropical activity has been below average in both the Eastern and Western Pacific.

We're just past the , and the Atlantic Basin has seen an active year so far, but the Pacific has seen less tropical activity than average.

There are a couple of ways to measure tropical activity, including the number of named storms and by looking at how long these storms lasted and how strong they were.

Below, we take a look at how busy the tropics have been in the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Western Pacific basins.

Atlantic Basin

There have been more named storms than average to date in the Atlantic. Through mid-August, the Atlantic was off to a , but then tropical activity ramped up in the Atlantic Basin.

Eleven named storms have formed in the Atlantic as of Sept. 22. The 11th named tropical system typically develops , based on the 1966-2009 average, meaning 2019 is currently pacing two months ahead of average.

The Atlantic has seen four hurricanes to date, which is what is expected through late September.

(MORE: Six Named Storms at Once in the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific Ties Record)

Tracks of named storms in the Atlantic as of Sept. 22, 2019.

Another way tropical activity is measured is a metric called (ACE), which sums up all the named storms, how long they lasted and how strong they became.

Based on this measurement, the Atlantic has also seen a slightly above average season so far (about 12% above average).

The long-lasting and powerful , which was a hurricane when it pounded the Bahamas, helped to boost the Atlantic season's ACE value. also reached major hurricane status.

Eastern Pacific Basin

Tropical activity in the Eastern Pacific is slightly below average as of Sept. 22.

There have been 13 named storms and 7 hurricanes so far, which is about average, according to the .

However, the accumulated cyclone energy in the northeastern Pacific is about 90% of average. The slightly below-average activity is due to the length of time the tropical storms and hurricanes have lasted.

Accumulated cyclone energy in the Northern Hemisphere as of Sept. 22, 2019.

Fortunately, most of the Eastern Pacific tropical storms and hurricanes have not impacted land.

is one of the few that has affected land, making landfall in the southern Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane on Sept. 20.

Western Pacific Basin

Farther west, the Western Pacific is a different story.

The number of named storms is about average so far this year, but the number of typhoons is below average. Only six typhoons have developed in the Western Pacific as of Sept. 22, and the by this date, based on the 1981-2010 average.

The length of time that tropical storms and typhoons have lasted in the Western Pacific is also less than average.

As a result, the accumulated cyclone energy in the Western Pacific is only about 64% of average.

Tracks of typhoons in the Western Pacific as of Sept. 22, 2019.

Although tropical activity is below average, there have been powerful and impactful tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific.

Wutip became the and was the equivalent to a hurricane.

In August, impacted parts of Japan. Krosa made landfall in southern Japan as a tropical storm and was responsible for at least one death. Lekima struck Japan's southern Ryukyu Islands as a super typhoon before making landfall in eastern China, where . Francisco made landfall in southern Japan as a typhoon and resulted in flooding.