Tropical Storm Carlos Forms

Tropical storm Carlos formed in the Southwest Indian Ocean north of the French Islands of Reunion and Mauritius on February 4, 2017 (UTC). This ended an unusual drought of tropical cyclone formation in that part of the Indian Ocean that began in July 2016. NASA's GPM core observatory satellite flew above tropical storm Carlos on February 5, 2017 at 1056 UTC when Carlos had maximum sustained winds of about 45 kts (51.8 mph). GPM collected data that showed the intensity and structure of precipitation within Carlos. GPM's Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) measured rain falling at a rate of

GES DISC FTP to HTTPS Transition

The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) will soon be completing its transition from FTP access to HTTPS access using NASA Earthdata Login. This transition will require GES DISC users to register with NASA Earthdata Login if they haven't already done so. To learn more about NASA Earthdata Login and registering for an account, please see https://wiki.earthdata.nasa.gov/display/EL/How+To+Register+With+Earthda… GES DISC will begin this transition starting Feb 13 2017, and expects to complete the transition mid-March. Users who currently access GES DISC

GPM Sees Possible Tropical Cyclone Developing Near Australia

So far this year no tropical cyclones have developed in the Southwest Indian Ocean. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) recently warned that a low moving westward over northwestern Australia may soon become a tropical cyclone. Warm Indian Ocean waters and low vertical wind shear are providing a good environment for tropical cyclone development. The GPM satellite flew over northwestern Australia on January 25, 2017 at 2351 UTC. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) measured precipitation within strong convection in the Indian Ocean northwest of the lows

Mudslides & Flooding Produced By Extreme Rainfall Over Southern California

It is sunny in southern California today but recent unusually heavy rainfall led to rock slides, mudslides and flooding in that part of the country. Rainfall of almost 4 inches (101.6 mm) in one day was reported in Long Beach, California. Some highways in the area were flooded due to intense downpours. Rainfall since the fall of 2016 has improved drought conditions over northern California but Southern California has been slower to improve because of the exceptional rainfall deficit in that area. NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) were used to estimate the total