Extreme Weather

The summer monsoon is a regular feature this time of year in India, and it can bring heavy rains to the region. However, periodically areas of low pressure can form within the general monsoon trough and bring even more rain. Although the extreme Himalayan topography located to the north is much more well-known, another contributing factor to the heavy rains along the southwest coast of India is the Western Ghats. Though much smaller than the Himalayas, this mountain range runs parallel to the West Coast of India with many peaks over 2,000 meters (~6,500 feet). As a result, the Western Ghats

View Fullscreen in STORM Event Viewer Direct strikes on Hawaii by tropical cyclones are relatively rare, but Hurricane Lane is poised to buck that trend if the models are to be believed. At the time of this overflight, Lane had maximum sustained winds of 130 knots and featured a symmetrical eye in the GMI data with intense precipitation rates on both east and west sides of the tight circulation. Its impacts are likely to start with flooding, especially on the island of Hawaii. High surf and strong winds will also have an impact, although the locations of maximum intensity will be determined by

View Fullscreen in STORM Event Viewer Avoiding Kyushu, Typhoon Soulik instead barrelled toward the Northern Ryukyu islands, with the 'truck-tire' eyewall impacting Amami (in the south) and Yakushima (in the north) Islands in this overflight. It featured winds approaching 100 knots as it moved northwestward. Soulik is expected to recurve toward the western coast of Korea, where it is likely to have devastating impacts to the majority of the peninsula depending on its ability to maintain intensity.

The GPM core observatory satellite flew over hurricane LANE on August 21, 2018 at 7:48 PM PST (August 22, 2018 at 0548 UTC). At that time LANE was located about 316 nautical miles (585.2 km) from Hilo, Hawaii. Hurricane LANE is one of the strongest tropical cyclones to move into the Hawaiian Islands. At the time of this GPM pass LANE was a category five on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale with winds of about 140 kts (161 mph). This analysis shows precipitation derived from data collected by the GPM satellite's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)

Hurricane LANE had moved westward into the central Pacific Ocean far southeast of the Hawaiian islands when the GPM core observatory satellite passed above on August 19, 2018 at 1643 UTC. LANE had intensified and had maximum sustained winds reaching about 105 kts (~ 121 mph) at that time. This made it a category three on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. The GPM satellite's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments provided highly accurate information about precipitation within the hurricane. GPM's GMI revealed rainfall coverage and GPM's radar (DPR

View fullscreen in STORM Event Viewer Heavy rainfall and towering cloud heights were the findings when Hurricane Lane was scanned by the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core observatory satellite on Aug. 17. Lane strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. GPM passed above Lane in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Aug. 17, 2018, at 1:26 a.m. EDT (0526 UTC). Lane was intensifying and data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments revealed the location of its forming eye wall. Very heavy

Subtropical Depression FIVE formed in the central Atlantic Ocean early today. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) classified it as subtropical. It is moving over warm ocean waters and has low vertical wind shear aloft so the system is predicted to slightly intensify. The GPM core observatory satellite passed above the western side of newly formed Subtropical Depression FIVE on August 15, 2018 at 1046 UTC. The GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments revealed that most of the rainfall within the subtropical depression was outside the middle of the

Most of the Eastern half of the United States had rainfall during the past week. Some parts of the country experienced heavy rainfall that resulted in flash floods and various other problems. Slow-moving storm systems and nearly stationary fronts were the cause of heavy rainfall over Virginia this past weekend. Several trees were brought down by a severe storm that hit Fredericksburg, Virginia Sunday Afternoon. Fallen trees blocked several roads, flash flooding occurred and electrical power was lost in that area. Continuing heavy rain also fell in Texas over the weekend. This provided some

The GPM core observatory satellite provided very good coverage of hurricane JOHN when it passed above the eye of the tropical cyclone on August 8, 2018 at 0:59 AM MDT (0659 UTC). JOHN's maximum sustained wind speeds had started to decrease. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments showed that most of JOHN's precipitation was then located in the eastern half of the hurricane. A large cloud free area had developed between the center of the hurricane and an intense feeder band wrapping around the northern and western side of the hurricane. GPM's radar

The GPM core observatory satellite provided very good coverage of hurricane JOHN when it passed above the eye of the tropical cyclone on August 8, 2018 at 0:59 AM MDT (0659 UTC). JOHN's maximum sustained wind speeds had started to decrease. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments showed that most of JOHN's precipitation was then located in the eastern half of the hurricane. A large cloud free area had developed between the center of the hurricane and an intense feeder band wrapping around the northern and western side of the hurricane. GPM's radar