Extreme Weather News

Fred became the first Cape Verdes hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic season when it was upgraded from a tropical storm on August 31, 2015 at 0600 UTC (2 AM AST). The GPM core observatory satellite flew over on August 30, 2015 at 0236 UTC when Fred was forming from a tropical wave that moved off the African coast. Rainfall was measured by GPM's Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) at the extreme rate of close to 128 mm (5.0 inches) per hour. Rainfall in towering convective thunderstorms at Fred’s center of circulation were providing the energy necessary for intensification into a hurricane

Hurricane Ignacio is the latest tropical cyclone in this busy 2015 eastern Pacific hurricane season to pose potential danger for the Hawaiian Islands. Guillermo passed close to the north, Hilda curved to the south and Kilo's course was threatening before a course change moved it to the south of the islands. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu Hawaii predicts that Ignacio will still be a hurricane when it passes to the northeast of Hawaii in about five days. Rainfall associated with hurricane Ignacio was measured by the GPM core observatory satellite's Microwave Imager (GMI) on

Tropical Storm Erika, the 5th named storm of the season, entered the northeast Caribbean early this morning as it passed through the Leeward Islands between Guadeloupe and Antigua. Fortunately, there were no reports of damage thanks in part to the effects of inhibiting wind shear, which kept the storm from strengthening. Erika originated as a wave of low pressure that was first detected on Friday the 21st of August midway between the West Coast of Africa and the Cape Verde Islands. The wave then tracked westward across the tropical mid Atlantic where it eventually intensified enough to become

This year the Eastern Pacific Ocean continues to spawn significant tropical cyclones. Hurricane Loke formed southwest of the Hawaiian Islands on August 21, 2015 but Loke has not been a threat to Hawaii because it intensified to hurricane strength while moving well west of Hawaii over the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. The GPM core observatory satellite measured precipitation within the hurricane as it flew above the most powerful storms in the hurricane on August 2015 at 0116 UTC. GPM's Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) measured rain falling at over 160 mm (6.3 inches) per hour in

Today tropical Storm Ignacio became the 16th 2015 tropical cyclone to form in the eastern Pacific this year putting it a couple weeks ahead of last year’s pace. The GPM core observatory satellite saw Ignacio on August 25, 2015 at 2256 UTC. GPM’s Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) found rain falling at a rate of over 74 mm (2.9 inches) per hour with storm tops reaching to altitudes of close to 15 km (8.7 miles).