On 3 April 2011 at 2250 UTC the TRMM satellite revealed that dissipating tropical cyclone TWENTY was still generating a few moderate thunderstorms over western Australia. Tropical cyclone TWENTY was the third to affect western Australian this tropical cyclone season that started in November 2010 and ends on 30 April 2011.

The TRMM satellite flew over an area of disturbed weather east of the Philippines on 3 April 2011 at 0129 UTC collecting data used in the image above. This area contains very intense thunderstorms with tops shooting to heights above 17 km (~10.6 miles). Heavy rainfall in these thunderstorm towers can provide the energy needed for tropical cyclone (typhoon) development.

More than 15 people have been killed in Thailand over the past week due to flooding and mudslides caused by extremely heavy rainfall. The Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) analysis above was made using data that were calibrated with TRMM precipitation data. These data are calculated and stored at NASA Goddard Space Flight center and are available within a few hours after being received by satellites. This analysis shows that rainfall for the past week over the Malay Peninsula was particularly extreme with totals of almost 1200 mm (~47 inches). TRMM satellite data revealed that