Videos

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 as well as the drought in Southern California from January 1, 2015 through July 16, 2015.

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. IMERG combines data from all 12 satellites into a single, seamless map. The map covers more of the globe than any previous precipitation data set, allowing scientists to...

The GPM satellite captured Joaquin (which was a tropical storm at the time) on September 29, 2015, at 21:39 UTC as the hurricane moved slowly west-southwest about 400 miles east of the Bahamas.

At the time, Joaquin had been battling northerly wind shear, which was impeding the storm's ability to strengthen.  However, compared to earlier in the day, the system was beginning to gain the upper hand as the shear began to relax its grip. 

At the time this data was collected, Joaquin's low-level center of circulation was located further within the cloud shield, and the rain area was beginning to...

Combining multiple datasets on a single visualization can often illustrate natural processes even better than a single dataset can.  This visualization shows assimilated surface winds from MERRA (the Modern Era Retrospective Reanalysis of the Atmosphere) over the IMERG global precipitation data set for October 2014.  It was created for a forthcoming Science On a Sphere program about the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission.  Notice how the changing winds shape the areas of active precipitation, particularly over the ocean where there are no land features to affect the precipitation...

Visualization depicting Typhoon Maysak in the Southwest Pacific region as observed by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Satellite on March 30, 2015.  GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) precipitation rates are displayed first, then a slicing place moves across the volume to display precipitation rates throughout the structure of the storm.  Shades of green to red represent liquid precipitation extending down to the ground.

The storm later intensified to a category 5-equivalent super typhoon with 150-mph sustained winds.

The GPM Core Observatory carries two instruments that show 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...