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Light Rain in the Smokies

A misty mountaintop in the Smokies
Image Caption
Mid-morning peak in light rainfall appears as clouds and fog at Purchase Knob in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Light rainfall is the most reliable and most frequent form of rainfall in the region, contributing 50 to 60 percent of the total precipitation over a year. Light rain is no less than the lifeline of freshwater resources for the landscape’s ecosystems. 

NASA's TRMM Satellite Sees Tornadic Texas Storms in 3-D

TRMM radar image of tornadic Texas storms
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
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