IMERG Measures Record Rainfall From Hurricane Delores Remnants

IMERG Measures Record Rainfall From Hurricane Delores Remnants

Moisture pumping into southern California and the Desert Southwest from the remnants of hurricane Dolores has caused record July rainfall. This rainfall may provide some drought relief to the state of California that has been in the grip of exceptional drought conditions. Heavy flooding caused an interstate 10 bridge collapse on Sunday July 19, 2015 forcing closure of this main roadway between Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona.

Data from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) were used to estimate the extreme amount of rain that fell during the past week in that area. This analysis included data collected from July 13-20, 2015. Rainfall that would not have been as significant in other areas of the United States have an extra impact in bone dry areas of California. Rainfall totals were estimated by IMERG to be over 268 mm (about 10.6 inches) in some areas of California.