TRMM

The TRMM satellite passed above hurricane Bud early this morning at 0429 UTC (9:30 PM PDT May 24, 2012). A large area of moderate to heavy rainfall with rates of over 30mm/hr (~1.2 inches) was revealed in Bud by TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) instrument. The rainfall analysis was overlaid on an enhanced infrared image derived from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS). Bud's past and predicted locations are shown overlaid in white. Heavy rainfall from hurricane Bud's slow movement may result in severe flooding and dangerous landslides as it moves over Mexico's rugged coastal terrain.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) Miami, Florida predicts that a low pressure center affecting southern Florida may develop into a tropical cyclone over the weekend. The TRMM satellite traveled above this area of disturbed weather early this morning at 0429 UTC ( 00:29 AM EDT ) collecting data used in the rainfall analysis shown.

Summer has not yet arrived, and yet there are currently 3 active tropical systems in the Northern Hemisphere spread across three different ocean basins. Perhaps, the most unusual of the three is Tropical Storm Alberto in the Atlantic. Alberto formed in the western Atlantic from a stationary low pressure system off of the coast of South Carolina on the 19th of May 2012, two weeks before the official June 1st start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Alberto is the first tropical storm to form this early in the season since Tropical Storm Ana in 2003, which formed on the 20th of April west of

The TRMM satellite flew above tropical storm Alberto when it was forming off the coast of South Carolina today. TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data captured at (12 minutes after midnight EDT) were used in the rainfall analysis shown above. It shows a large area of moderate to heavy rainfall with a small area of heavy rainfall located near the center of the forming tropical cyclone.

The TRMM satellite passed almost directly above tropical storm Aletta in the eastern Pacific Ocean on 16 March 2012 at 1146 UTC. Data from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments were used in the rainfall analysis shown above. Aletta's past and future positions are shown overlaid in white. Aletta looks disorganized in this orbit but some very heavy thunderstorms, producing rainfall at a rate greater than 50mm/hr (~2 inches), were located near the storm's center. TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) found that some thunderstorms contained very heavy rainfall with a

The eastern Pacific hurricane season starts today. Just slightly ahead of schedule tropical storm Aletta formed yesterday well to the southwest of the Mexican coast. The image above uses data captured when the TRMM satellite passed above Aletta on 15 May 2012 at 0253 UTC. TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) instrument had a good look at the newly formed storm and showed that Aletta had a large area of light to moderate rainfall north of the storm's center of circulation. The TMI rainfall analysis is shown overlaid on an enhanced infrared image from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS)

Tropical cyclones are more likely to form in the northern hemisphere in May so tropical cyclone 19S is a little unusual. Tropical cyclone 19S attained tropical storm intensity in the Banda Sea on 7 May 2012. 19S is expected to quickly weaken to tropical depression intensity with wind speeds of about 25 kts (~29 mph) as it moves southward into the Timor Sea north of Australia. The TRMM satellite has been useful for monitoring the development of tropical cyclones over the global tropics. TRMM flew above tropical cyclone 19S during the daylight on 8 May 2012 at 0213 UTC. A rainfall analysis from

It has been reported that spring floods with mudslides have resulted in the death of at least 9 people and forced 11,000 people to flee their homes in the Dominican Republic. Data from the TRMM satellite are used to calibrate rainfall data merged from various satellite sources. TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analyses (TMPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center are used to monitor rainfall over the global Tropics. TMPA rainfall estimates are shown above for the week from April 19 to April 26, 2012. This analysis shows that extreme rainfall (shown in dark red)

It's springtime in the Plains, which means the increased likelihood that severe weather, including tornadoes, will occur somewhere across the region. After a week of relative quiet, a strong storm system moved out of the southern Rockies and out into the Central Plains. In association with this system, strong southerly winds at low levels drew Gulf moisture up across Texas and into Oklahoma and Kansas while strong jet-stream winds aloft raced northeastward around the base of an upper-level trough over the four-corners region and out over the Plains, setting the stage for a potential severe

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite provides a look at thunderstorms in three dimensions and shows scientists the heights of the thunderclouds and the rainfall rates coming from them, both of which indicate severity. Powerful thunderstorms that created severe weather were more than 8 miles high. The TRMM satellite passed above northeastern Texas on April 3, 8:33 p.m. CDT and gathered rainfall and cloud height data from a line of thunderstorms moving through the area. The rainfall image above shows a distinct line of tornadic thunderstorms extending from Arkansas through