Extreme Weather News

On August 2, 2016 Ivette became the 11th tropical cyclone this year in the eastern Pacific. Tropical cyclones have formed in the eastern Pacific this year at almost the same frequency as in 2015. Ivette has been moving toward the central Pacific Ocean. Warm ocean water and low vertical wind shear are expected to help Ivette intensify to hurricane intensity in a few days. The GPM core observatory passed over the eastern side of tropical storm Ivette on August 4, 2016 at 0606 UTC. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) data showed that storms around Ivette

Tropical storm Earl has been intensifying as it moves through the Caribbean Sea. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) now predicts that Earl will be a hurricane before it hits Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula tomorrow afternoon. Earl is predicted by NHC to remain in a light to moderate vertical wind shear environment over very warm sea surface temperatures until landfall. The GPM core observatory satellite passed over intensifying tropical storm Earl in the Caribbean Sea northeast of Honduras on August 3, 2016 at 0356 UTC ( August 2, 2016 11:56 PM EDT). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency

Today a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea south of Cuba developed a closed circulation center and was then designated tropical storm Earl by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Earl is the fifth tropical cyclone to form in the Atlantic Ocean this year. The GPM core observatory satellite flew over the forming tropical storm on August 2, 2016 at 1436 UTC (10:36 AM EDT). GPM's Microwave Imager (GPM) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) data were used in this analysis to show precipitation accompanying Earl. GPM's GMI provided excellent coverage of heavy convective rainfall in the

NASA analyzed rainfall data from slow-moving storms that triggered flash floods over parts of central Maryland and caused devastating flooding in historic Ellicott City, Maryland. A slow-moving line of heavy thunderstorms dumped as much as 6 to 7 inches of rain in about two hours' time during the evening of Saturday, July 30, over parts of Howard County in central Maryland, resulting in severe local flash flooding. The hardest hit area was the historic town of Ellicott City, where two people were trapped in their cars and drowned. The town suffered substantial damage to many buildings

Most of the Hawaiian Islands were spared serious damage from tropical storm Darby. The location of Darby's track through the Hawaiian Islands resulted in the islands of Hawaii and Oahu being the most affected. Flash flooding was common on Oahu due to a reported 177.8 mm (7 inches) of rain drenching the island. Interstate H-1 was flooded in some locations. Lightning damage was reported in Kaneohe on the windward side of Oahu. Estimates of rainfall accompanying tropical storm Darby were produced using NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data. These IMERG rainfall