The STORM Swath-Based Analysis Tool ( https://storm.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov/storm/Analysis.jsp) is a better way to explore and order targeted Level 2 data. Select one or more instruments from a list going back to the beginning of the TRMM mission, provide a date range, and input a geographic region of interest. Once you hit "Get Granules for Chart," a graph will appear and data points will begin to display. These points represent the mean precipitation rate value for all of the pixels for that orbit of that instrument over that geographic region. Once the graph loading is paused or complete

This past week, something rather unusual happened off the coast of Chile: a rare subtropical storm formed in the Southeast Pacific Ocean. Cyclone season is winding down in the Southwest Pacific near Australia where it is common for several tropical storms to form every year, but in the Southeast Pacific tropical storms are unheard of. This particular storm is a subtropical storm, which is a sort of a hybrid between a tropical cyclone like a hurricane, which gets it energy primarily from the condensation of humid air that forms over warm ocean waters, and an extratropical storm, which has a

The Eastern Pacific hurricane season officially starts on May 15, 2018. A low pressure center located well to the southwest of the Baja California Peninsula may develop into this area's first tropical cyclone of 2018. Low vertical wind shear and warm ocean temperatures in the vicinity of the low are providing favorable conditions for this low's development into a tropical cyclone. If it develops it will be called Aletta. The GPM core observatory satellite passed over the center of the most intense convective storms in this potential tropical cyclone. Rainfall data collected by GPM's satellite

Heavy seasonal rainfall has recently caused flooding in Kenya resulting in displacement of over 244,000. This deluge follows the severe drought that afflicted East Africa in 2017. The estimated death toll from flooding and mudslides has recently been increased to about 100 people. Rainfall accumulation estimates from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data are shown here for the period from April 27 to early May 4, 2018. During this period heavy seasonal precipitation fell over Kenya. Rainfall totals in some areas near the Indian Ocean coast were estimated by IMERG to

Until yesterday tornado alley was experiencing a drought of spring tornadoes. The eighteen tornadoes reported in the area yesterday may be a sign of things to come. Moisture laden air from the Gulf Of Mexico is having a more normal interaction with dry air flowing from the desert south-western states (dry line). Wind speed and wind direction change (shear) with height results in thunderstorms that spawn rotation and tornadoes. The GPM core observatory satellite passed over tornado alley in the early morning of May 1, 2018 at 6:28 AM CDT (11:38 UTC). Tornadoes were not observed until the