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Friday, June 19, 2020

GPM Flies Over Cat. 4 Hurricane Laura Twice As It Makes Landfall in Louisiana

GPM Overpass of Hurricane Laura 8/26/20 10:00pm CT
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Hurricane Laura began as a tropical depression on August 21st near the U.S. Virgin Islands, and over the next several days rapidly intensified to a dangerous category 4 hurricane at it moved towards the U.S. Gulf Coast. Laura made landfall as strong category 4 hurricane near Cameron, Louisiana shortly after midnight on August 27, 2020, bringing extreme rainfall, storm surge, and winds up to 150 mph. The NASA / JAXA GPM Core Observatory satellite flew over Hurricane Laura shortly before it made landfall at 10:00pm CT on Wednesday, August 26th, then again at 7:42am CT on Thursday, August 27th
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The 1-2 Punch: Hurricanes Marco and Laura and the US Gulf Coast

Hurricane Laura on August 27, 2020
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Update on August 28, 2020: During its approach to Louisiana, Hurricane Laura dramatically intensified from Category 2 to 4 (105 mph to 150 mph) between at 1AM and 7PM Central Time (CDT) on August 26, 2020. In the updated movie below, the precipitation falling from Laura is shown through 10:30PM CDT, August 27, as estimated by NASA's IMERG algorithm. To open the animation in a separate window, click here. On August 26, Laura became the first North Atlantic hurricane to reach "major hurricane" status this year, meaning that it reached category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane-intensity scale
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Hurricane Isaias Impacts the US East Coast

Hurricane Isaias Impacts the US East Coast
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
From July 29 to August 5, 2020, NASA’s IMERG algorithm observed tropical storm Isaias’ rainfall over the Caribbean and large parts of the Eastern US. This animation shows the IMERG rain rates in green shading as Isaias tracked from the tropical Atlantic into the Caribbean, then northward along the Atlantic coast and into New England. The yellow line shows the location of Isaias' low-pressure center, as tracked by the National Hurricane Center and smoothed in time here for the animation.
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Hurricane Hanna Brings Heavy Rains to Parts of South Texas

IMERG Hurricane Hanna 7-27-20 cropped
Monday, July 27, 2020
Hanna formed from a westward propagating tropical easterly wave that entered the southeast corner of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday July 21st. The wave provided a focus for shower and thunderstorm activity, which then led to the formation of an area of low pressure over the central Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) found that this low had developed a closed circulation by the evening of Wednesday July 22nd, making it Tropical Depression #8. Over the next 24 hours, the depression slowly organized and intensified over the central Gulf before reaching tropical storm intensity on
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GPM Flies Over Hurricane Douglas in the Pacific Ocean

GPM Hurricane Douglas 7-25-20
Monday, July 27, 2020
Hurricane Douglas continued to approach the Hawaiian islands during this GPM overpass early in the morning (02:11 UTC) of July 25, 2020. Douglas had previously strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane the day before, but had substantially weakened over cooler waters throughout the day. Regardless, the GMI and DPR instruments recorded rain rates near 50 millimeters/hour (~2 inches/hour) near Douglas` center. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center advised residents of Hawaii to expect hurricane-strength winds and rainfall starting Saturday evening and lasting through Monday. View fullscreen in STORM
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IMERG Observes Additional Plum Rains in East Asia

IMERG rainfall totals from Japan, July 3 - 9 2020
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
From July 3-9, 2020, NASA’s IMERG algorithm continued to observe the heavy precipitation that fell as part of the seasonal Meiyu-Baiu rains (“plum rains”) in east Asia. Weekly totals reached their regional maxima over the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. About half of the island of Kyushu received over 45 cm (~18 inches) of rain. The majority of Honshu, Japan’s main island, as well as Shikoku to its south, were also impacted by the rains, receiving from 10-25 cm, depending on the location. Additionally, large areas of eastern China were also covered by the plum rains during this weekly
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IMERG Measures Flooding Rainfall from "Plum Rains" in Japan

IMERG rainfall totals from Japan, June 29 - July 5, 2020
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
This animation shows NASA IMERG rain rates (blue shading) and accumulations (green shading) near Kyushu island, in the southwest of Japan from June 29 - July 5, 2020. Devastating floods and landslides swept through parts of Kyushu on July 4, 2020, resulting in over 40 deaths and orders for hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes according to media reports. Download video (right-click -> Save As) The rains that triggered the flooding occurred in the context of the Meiyu-Baiu rainy season, which arrives in east Asia every year from June to mid-July. “Meiyu” and “Baiu” are the
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NASA Satellites Help Farmers in Central America's Dry Corridor

Farmer in a field in El Salvador
Thursday, July 2, 2020
To reduce risks from natural disasters and build climate resilience, decision makers are using NASA Earth observations to develop index-based insurance products and protect low-income customers in Central America, especially in the region known as the Dry Corridor.
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Satellites Have Drastically Changed How We Forecast Hurricanes

Hurricane Forecasting Screenshot
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
The powerful hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900, killing an estimated 8,000 people and destroying more than 3,600 buildings, took the coastal city by surprise. This video looks at advances in hurricane forecasting in the 120 years since, with a focus on the contributions from weather satellites. This satellite technology has allowed us to track hurricanes – their location, movement and intensity. “One of the dramatic impacts is that satellite data keeps an eye on the target," especially over unpopulated areas such as oceans, said JPSS Director Greg Mandt. “We’re sort...
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Personalizing Precipitation Data: 5 Questions with Andrea Portier

Andrea Portier
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Meet Andrea Portier. By day, Portier is an application and outreach coordinator for the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM). By night — well, when she’s not at work — Portier can be found exploring local national parks and taking community classes. Portier spends her time honing her communication skills to help user communities understand GPM data and apply it to the real-world issues they face. We chatted with Portier to learn how she communicates complex ideas to diverse audiences, why her other career choice would be a wilderness therapy guide, and what advice she would give to...
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