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Though the last traces of winter are melting away and spring showers are in full swing across the U.S., the story of snow is not quite over for the season. In mid-April, two winter field campaigns involving NASA researchers are wrapping up, bringing with them unprecedented observations of snowfall. Understanding when, where, and how much snow is falling is critical for scientists and the public alike. In the short-term, accurate snowfall data can help weather forecasters prepare communities and plan against hazardous road conditions, power outages, and health risks. Over the long-term, these

This past week, a slow-moving, upper-level system moving through the central U.S. triggered several days of severe weather. The system caused numerous tornadoes, as well as heavy rains and flooding from the Deep South up through the middle Mississippi River Valley and into the Ohio River valley. The situation began when an upper-level area of low pressure situated over the northeast Pacific pivoted down into the central Rockies, creating a deep trough of low pressure aloft that extended down into the northern Baja. This channeled strong jet stream winds from south of the Four Corners region up

Most people live in places where it rains much more often than it does in the Sahara Desert. For this reason, it can be challenging to make sense of news reports of major storms in the Sahara. NASA satellite data and rainfall statistics can give the needed context. Below is a discussion of three news stories about rainfall in or near the Sahara Desert during August and September 2024. These news stories described storm runoff, infrastructure damage, and the rain's impact on the ecosystems at the edge of the desert. Areas with significant impacts are shown in green in Figure 1. Figure 1. A map

During the 10-day period from Oct. 26 through Nov. 4, 2024, parts of central-eastern and southern Spain saw unusually heavy flooding that resulted in heavy infrastructure damage and over 200 fatalities, according to the Associated Press. In this animation, NASA’s IMERG multi-satellite data product shows estimated rain rates (blue/yellow shading) and accumulations (green/purple shading) from the flooding rainfall. Cloudiness is also shown in white/gray shading, from geosynchronous infrared satellite observations. Download video (right-click -> "Save As") The flooding was caused by heavy

For the third consecutive year, NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission applications team and University of Coimbra’s Earth and Space Science Center (CITEUC Portugal) collaborated to host the GPM Mentorship Program. The 2024 initiative built on previous years' successes, supporting new and existing user communities and providing a tailored hands-on learning experience in using GPM data for applications. It gave participants an overview of state-of-the-art GPM satellite-based precipitation estimates and provided users with examples of applying GPM data to support real-world problems

While the GPM Core Observatory’s instruments show exceptional detail in Milton’s rainfall structure in several overpasses throughout the week, the IMERG global multi-satellite product provides a broader overview of precipitation along Milton’s track as a continuous picture from development through landfall. Download this video (right-click -> "save as") The above animation shows IMERG precipitation rates (in blue/yellow shading) and accumulations (in green/purple shading) from Oct. 5-10, 2024. Cloudiness is shown in shades of white/gray using infrared geosynchronous satellite data. While

Updated Oct. 10, 2024 Click here for a visualization of IMERG precipitations and totals from Hurricane Milton. After forming in the Bay of Campeche, Hurricane Milton underwent a remarkable period of rapid intensification with its central pressure falling from 1007 mb (29.74 inches of mercury, inHg) at 11:00 a.m. EDT Oct. 5 to 897 mb (26.49 inHg) at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Oct. 7. At this time Milton became the fifth most intense hurricane in the Atlantic Basin on record in terms of central pressure, just behind Hurricane Rita (2005) on that list, and only the sixth storm in the Atlantic to have a

[ Goto Spanish translation; Ir a la traducción al español] On Monday evening, Sept. 23, 2024, an unusual hurricane struck southern Mexico, dumping 20 inches of rainfall along the coast according to estimates from NASA's IMERG precipitation product. The following image shows these rainfall estimates: Click here for a full resolution version of this image. Observations from an international constellation of satellites were the starting point for calculating these estimates, and the data confirm that forecasters in prior days were right to warn of possible heavy rainfall. Forecasters did have

After tracking through the eastern Gulf of Mexico and battering much of the west coast of Florida with strong winds and storm surge, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida’s northwest coast at 11:10 pm EDT about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds reported at 140 mph by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Hurricane Idalia, a strong Category 3 storm at the time, also made landfall in the Big Bend last year. Animation of NASA IMERG precipitation rates and totals from Hurricane Helene from Sept. 23 -

Nov. 14, 2024, 8:00 p.m. ET Overview As we finish celebrating the NASA / JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's 10 year anniversary, we'll take a look behind the scenes at how the GPM Outreach Team showcased the mission's science, technology, and applications over the years. We'll also look ahead to the exciting new plans for the future of NASA’s precipitation measurement missions! View the Resource Packet Speakers Kristen Weaver Kristen Weaver is the Deputy Coordinator for the GLOBE Observer project, which aims to extend the long-standing citizen science and science education