Videos

North America experiences a yearly monsoon weather system in late summer as moisture comes up from the west coast of Mexico and enters the southwestern U.S. The seasonal weather pattern brings both much of the region's precipitation but can also pose a threat in the form of flash flooding. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission gathers data from these storms in order to better understand the precipitation processes happening within, which can help better forecast the breaks and surges in the monsoon. 

NASA researchers now can use a combination of satellite observations to re-create multi-dimensional pictures of hurricanes and other major storms in order to study complex atmospheric interactions. In this video, they applied those techniques to Hurricane Matthew. When it occurred in the fall of 2016, Matthew was the first Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in almost ten years. Its torrential rains and winds caused significant damage and loss of life as it coursed through the Caribbean and up along the southern U.S. coast. 

Music: "Buoys," Donn Wilkerson, Killer Tracks; "Late Night Drive," Donn...

At the time of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory overpass (April 1, 2017, 0550 UTC), the storm's center of low pressure was south of Long Island. At the mid-levels of the atmosphere, the circulation was centered over northeast Pennsylvania. This led to a classic overrunning, warm conveyor setup, which happened when the counterclockwise low level flow drew in cold air out of the north/northeast (hence "Nor'easter") from Canada. Higher up, warm and moist air from further south was lifted over this cold air and resulted in precipitation in the form of snow at the surface...

This visualization combines precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission and water vapor data from the Goddard Earth Observing System Model.  These datasets show the extreme rainfall that occurred in California during the first three weeks of February 2017 and the atmospheric rivers that transported the rain to the area.

Visualizer: Horace Mitchell (lead)

For more information or to download this public domain video, go to https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4555#74675

NASA scientists can measure the size and shape distribution of snow particles, layer by layer, in a storm. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission is an international satellite project that provides next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours.

After more than four years of drought, Californians may wonder where the current rain is coming from. Using satellites, NASA scientists have a unique view of the sources of precipitation, and how it reaches the western United States.

Rain is often carried by narrow tendrils of moisture called atmospheric rivers that occur all over the world, shown here in white. The atmospheric rivers that affect the western United States are known as the Pineapple Express because they transport water vapor from as far south as Hawaii to California. When the moisture reaches land, it is forced up over the...

This visualization shows heavy rainfall throughout Northern Texas and across Oklahoma from January 1, 2015 through July 16, 2015 as well as the drought in Southern California during that same time period.

NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission launched on Feb. 27, 2014. It is a collaboration between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and acts as the standard to unify precipitation measurements from a network of 12 satellites. The result is IMERG, which combines data from all 12 satellites into a single, seamless map. The map covers more of the globe than any...

On December 5, 2014 (1032 UTC) the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory flew over Typhoon Hagupit as it headed towards the Philippines. A few hours later at 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EST), Super Typhoon Hagupit's maximum sustained winds were near 130 knots (149.6 mph/241 kph), down from 150 knots (172 mph/277.8 kph). Typhoon-force winds extend out 40 nautical miles (46 miles/74 km) from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend out to 120 miles (138 miles/222 km).

The GPM Core Observatory carries two instruments that show the location and intensity of rain and...

The global IMERG precipitation dataset provides rainfall rates for the entire world every thirty minutes.  Using this dataset, it is possible to calculate the amount of accumulated rainfall for any region over a period of time.  This visualization shows the accumulation of rainfall across the globe August 4, 2014 through August 10, 2014.  In addition to the dramatic accumulation near Japan due to Typhoon Halong and the track of Hurricane Bertha off the eastern coast of the United States, it is also possible to see a rare August storm over the North Sea near Europe, the origins of Hurricane...

On October 9, 2014 (0248 UTC) the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory flew over Typhoon Vongfong as it headed towards Japan. At this point, the storm had weakened to a category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per hour (mph), down form a category 5 typhoon on October 8th. This visualization first reveals a swath of GPM/GMI precipitation rates over Typhoon Vongfong.  As the camera moves in on the storm, DPR's volumetric view of the storm is revealed.  A slicing plane moves across the volume to display precipitation rates throughout the storm...