Extreme Weather

Typhoon Lan caused flooding, landslides and the death of at least seven people when it hit Japan early Monday morning. The powerful typhoon was accompanied by high winds and extremely heavy rainfall. Rain totals of 800 mm (31.5 inches) were reported in parts of south central Honshu. Wind speeds of over 106 kts (121.9 mph) were also reported. On October 22, 2017 at 0556 UTC the "core" satellite of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission had an excellent view of Lan as the typhoon was approaching Japan. Data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation

Tropical depression twenty five (TD25W) formed in the western Pacific Ocean west of Yap on October 15, 2017. After that the intensifying tropical cyclone moved into the Philippine Sea. Tropical storm Lan recently moved toward the north and was upgraded to typhoon Lan. Maximum sustained wind speeds today (October 19, 2017) were estimated to have reached 75 kts (~86 mph). This wind speed makes it a category one on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Extremely warm ocean waters (30-31 degrees Celsius) along Lan's path are providing fuel for further intensification. On October 18, 2017 at

On October 17, 2017 at 0806 UTC the GPM core observatory satellite passed above a low pressure center in the western Bay Of Bengal where a tropical cyclone is probably forming. Warm sea surface temperatures in the Bay Of Bengal are supplying the necessary energy but moderate vertical wind shear observed to the south of the low are counteracting tropical cyclone development. Rainfall rates within the potential tropical cyclone were estimated using data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments. Extremely heavy rainfall accompanied strong

The GPM core observatory passed directly above hurricane Ophelia on October 14, 2017 at 1656 UTC. Ophelia was a powerful category three on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale with sustained winds of close to 115 mph (100 kts). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments collected data showing the locations of extremely heavy rainfall with the hurricane. GPM's radar unveiled intense downpours in the northeastern side of Ophelia's eye that were dropping rain at the extreme rate of over 8.4 inches (213 mm) per hour. Other intense feeder bands with

Tropical storm Khanun formed northeast of the Philippines on October 12, 2017. The GPM core observatory satellite passed above Khanun on October 13, 2017 (0656 UTC) when maximum sustained wind speeds had reached about 45 kts (~52 mph). Khanun had passed over the northern Philippines and was moving into the South China Sea. The approximate location of Khanun's center of circulation is shown with a red tropical storm symbol. The intensifying tropical storm's rainfall is shown in this image courtesy of data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)

On Monday October 9, 2017 at 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC) tropical depression seventeen (TD17) was upgraded to tropical storm Ophelia. The tropical storm is located over the open waters of the the eastern Atlantic southwest of the Azores. The GPM core observatory satellite had a good view of tropical storm Ophelia on October 10, 2017 at 2:46 PM AST (1846 UTC). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) revealed that the storm was organized but most of the rainfall in the storm was only of light to moderate intensity. The area covered by GPM's 151.9 mile wide (245 km)

The GPM core observatory satellite passed above powerful thunderstorms within land falling hurricane Nate on October 8, 2017 at 4:41 AM EDT (0841 UTC). GPM's Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) found that a few storms over southwestern Alabama were dropping rain at the extreme rate of greater than 4 inches (102 mm) per hour. This 3-D slice by GPM's radar (DPR Ku Band) shows the structure of precipitation within the powerful thunderstorms near the center of hurricane Nate. A few thunderstorms over Alabama were found by GPM's radar to have tops reaching heights above 10.5 miles (17 km).

The GPM core observatory satellite passed above forming tropical storm Nate (TD16) on October 5, 2017 at 5:46 AM EDT (0946 UTC). TD16 was located in the western Caribbean near the coast of Nicaragua with winds of about 34.5 mph (30 kts). Data received by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) shows bands of rain producing heavy rainfall East of TD16's center of circulation. Downpours in the Caribbean Sea East of Nicaragua were measured by GPM's Radar (DPR Ku Band) dropping rain at a rate of over 6.4 inches (162 mm) per hour. This close-up 3-d cross section

Hurricane Maria has significantly weakened from the powerful category four hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico. The GPM core observatory satellite flew over Maria on September 25, 2017 at 9:28 PM EDT (September 26, 2017 at 0128 UTC). This informative GPM pass showed that the western side of the hurricane was drier and contained much less precipitation than the eastern side. GPM's Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) scanned directly through the center of Maria's eye and showed that there were only light to moderate rain showers around the hurricane's center. DPR found a few convective