Extreme Weather

The GPM core observatory satellite passed above tropical storm Gert on August 14, 2017 at 9:36 EDT (1336 UTC) when winds had reached about 57.5 mph (50 kts). Data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments were used to show the coverage and the intensity of rainfall arround tropical storm Gert. The area covered by GPM's radar swath (shown in lighter shades) revealed that the most intense rainfall, measuring greater than 3.5 inches (90 mm) per hour, was located in bands of rain on the eastern side of the storm. This GPM pass was mentioned

Tropical storm Gert was upgraded to a Hurricane on 1100 PM EDT Monday August 14, 2017 at 11:00 PM (August 15, 2017 0300 UTC). The GPM core observatory satellite flew over the intensifying tropical storm on August 14, 2017 at 7:21 PM EDT (2321 UTC). With winds of about 69 mph (60 kts) Gert was getting close to hurricane intensity. Data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments showed heavy rainfall south of Gert's partial eye. GMI showed that rain was falling at a rate of over 1.6 inches (40 mm) in that area. GPM's Radar scanned through

As expected, tropical storm Franklin intensified and was upgraded to hurricane Franklin in the afternoon of August 9, 2017. Franklin made landfall on the coast of eastern Mexico early this morning as a category 1 hurricane with winds of over 86 mph (75 kts). Heavy rainfall, flash floods and mudslides are expected as Franklin moves inland and weakens. The remnants of Franklin may survive the transit over Mexico's rough terrain and revive after moving into the eastern Pacific Ocean. The GPM core observatory satellite saw tropical storm Franklin with winds of about 69 mph (60 kts) as it was

The GPM core observatory satellite had an informative pass over Tropical storm Franklin on August 9, 2017 at 0302 UTC. The intensifying tropical storm had moved from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula into the southwestern Gulf Of Mexico's Bay of Campeche. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) data showed that Franklin contained a few heavy bands of convective rainfall. GPM's DPR found rain falling at a rate of over rain 2.4 inches (62 mm) per hour in bands of intense storms moving around the southwestern side of the storm. This 3-D view of tropical storm Franklin

Tropical cyclone development in the eastern Pacific Ocean has been occurring at a slightly above normal pace this year. Hurricanes Hilary and Irwin were the two most recently named tropical cyclones to form in this area. These two were a little unusual because they traveled so close to each other that an interaction occurred that radically changed the direction and speed of tropical storm Irwin's movement. The Fujiwara effect happens when cyclones move close of one another. Their centers will sometimes begin orbiting cyclonically (in the northern hemisphere) about a point between the two

Tornadic storms in Maryland are rare to begin with, let alone in the middle of the night. However, about an hour after midnight in the early morning hours of Monday April 24th at around 1:00 am local time, a severe thunderstorm, which was located at the southern end of a mass of storms and which had just dumped heavy rains over the Washington, DC area, began to cross the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland heading eastward. It is quite common for storms to weaken as they cross the cooler waters of the Bay, but water temperatures are now rather warm, over 80F, which allowed the storm to

The GPM core observatory satellite had another exceptional view of hurricane Fernanda when it flew over on July 20, 2017 at 0101 UTC. GPM saw a much different hurricane than it viewed a couple days earlier. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) radar instruments found that the dissipating hurricane only contained heavy rainfall in it's northwestern quadrant. Cooler water, dry air, and southwesterly vertical wind shear had caused Fernanda to weaken. GPM's Radar revealed that powerful convective storms in that part of the dissipating hurricane were still

The GPM core observatory satellite had an excellent view of hurricane Fernanda on July 18, 2017 at 0110 UTC. Hurricane Fernanda had weakened from it's peak wind speed of 125 kts (143.75 mph) attained on July 15, 2017 but still had maximum sustained wind speeds of about 95 kts (109 mph). This meant that Fernanda was still a powerful category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) data showed the location of intense rainfall circling around Fernanda's eye. Measurements by GPM's Radar (DPR Ku band) showed

On Monday July 17, 2017 at 5:00 PM EDT a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean was upgraded to tropical storm Don, the fourth Atlantic Tropical storm of 2017. The GPM core observatory satellite flew above the forming tropical storm much earlier in the same day at 3:17 AM EDT (0717 UTC). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments collected data that were used to evaluate precipitation within the forming tropical cyclone. GPM's Radar data swath (shown in lighter shades) covered an area to the west of the greatest amount of rainfall. GPM's radar

Heavy rain has resulted in significant flooding in the Midwest during the past week. Water flowing into the Fox River in northeastern Illinois caused serious flooding in that area. Central Indiana and central Ohio have also had remarkable flooding. NASA's Integrated Multi-satelliE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data were used to show estimates of rainfall accumulation in the Midwest during the period from July 7-14, 2017. This analysis indicates that parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio had the highest rainfall totals during the period with over 6 inches (152.4 mm) of rain being seen in