Hal Pierce

Cyclone Hudhud, which reached the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane on the US Saffir-Simpson scale over the Bay of Bengal, weakened slightly before making landfall Sunday morning (local time) on the central southeast coast of India near the port city of Visakhapatnam. Hudhud came ashore with wind gusts of up to 120 mph and so far is being blamed for 24 fatalities in India. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation data (TMPA) analysis is used to monitor rainfall over the global Tropics. A TMPA rainfall analsis for the period 7-14 October 2014 over India and the

The TRMM satellite flew over intensifying cyclone Hudhud in the Bay Of Bengal on October 10, 2014 at 0945 UTC.A Rainfall analysis from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) instrument and Hudud's track is shown here. Cyclone Hudhud's is predicted to become a powerful category three tropical cyclone (on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale) with sustained winds peaking at 100 kts (115 mph) before hitting India's east coast in a couple days.

Vongfong was a super typhoon with wind maximum sustained winds of 145 kts (167 mph) when the TRMM satellite flew over on October 8, 2014 at 2328 UTC. Vongfong was the most powerful typhoon since super typhoon Haiyan that killed over 6,000 people after hitting the Philippines in November 2013. In the first image TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) shows that Vongfong was producing rainfall over a large area with heavy rainfall revealed in the eye wall and in multiple feeder bands. The small animation shows typhoon Vongfong's rainfall being overlaid on a MTSAT Visible/Infrared image. The Joint Typhoon

Typhoon Vongfong formed on October 2, 2014 southeast of Guam. Typhoon Phanfone, that recently pummeled Japan, formed near the same area in the western Pacific Ocean. Vongfong had wind speeds of about 120 kts (138 mph) when the TRMM satellite flew above the intensifying typhoon's eye on October 7, 2014 at 0800 UTC. TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) showed that powerful storms in Vongfong's eye wall were producing very heavy rainfall. TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) show that multiple rain bands spiraling into Vongfong were also dropping rain over a large area. Vongfong is predicted by the Joint

Phanfone was a powerful super typhoon with sustained wind speed estimated at 130 kts ( 150 mph) as it approached Japan but had weakened to a category one typhoon with sustained winds of about 70 kts (81 mph) as is passed near Tokyo. Phanfone's track and locations when the tropical cyclone was near Japan are shown overlaid in white. The TRMM- based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has been measuring the distribution of precipitation over the tropics. TMPA based rainfall totals are shown here for the period from September 28 to

Typhoon Phanfone had sustained wind speeds of about 110 kts (127 mph) and a well defined eye when the TRMM satellite passed over on October 3, 2014 at 0208 UTC. Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) measurements showed that Phanfone's eye wall and strong feeder bands contained rain frequently falling at a rate of over 60 mm (2.4 inches) per hour. Typhoon Phanfone's wind speeds were predicted today by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) to peak at 120 kts (138 mph) on October 4, 2014 0600 UTC. As a weakening typhoon, Phanfone's course is predicted to change from north

An intensifying typhoon called Phanfone that originated east of Guam on September 28, 2014 is headed toward southern Japan. The TRMM satellite crossed above typhoon Phanfone on October 1, 2014 at 1039 UTC. Rainfall that was made from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) Precipitation Radar (PR) data collected with this orbit is shown in this image. Typhoon Phanfone's winds were estimated to be above 65 kts (about 75 mph) at the time of this TRMM view. Winds within the increasingly powerful typhoon are are expected to increase to over 100 kts (115 mph) in the next few days while moving toward the

Tropical depression 18E, located southwest of Mexico, became tropical storm Rachel on September 24, 2014 at 1500 UTC (8 PM PDT). The TRMM satellite had a good view of Rachel when it flew over early today at 0608 UTC (September 25, 2014 at 11:08 PM PDT). A precipitation analysis that used TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) data is shown overlaid on a 0600Z GOES-WEST enhanced infrared image. This image shows that, due to northeasterly wind shear, convective precipitation was located southwest of of Rachel's center of circulation. The heaviest rain was shown falling at a rate of over 50mm (amost 2

Tropical cyclones have continued to form in the eastern Pacific Ocean at a faster rate than last year. This morning at 8 AM PDT (1500 UTC) a low pressure center south of Mexico was upgraded to a tropical depression (18E). The TRMM satellite crossed over the forming tropical depression on September 23, 2014 at 0729 UTC (00:20 AM PDT). TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument found that rain was falling at a rate of almost 61 mm (2.4 inches) per hour near the low's center of circulation. Radar reflectivity values of over 51 dBZ were analyzed in some heavy showers by TRMM PR. This simulated 3-D

Edouard, which became the fifth named storm of the season after forming on the night of September 11th (EDT) west of the Cape Verde Islands, continued to strengthen as it made its way through the central Atlantic this past week, reaching hurricane intensity on the 14th before becoming the first major hurricane of the season when it peaked briefly as a category 3 storm on the 16th with sustained winds reported at 100 knots (~115 mph) by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Fortunately, the storm has not posed a threat to the US East Coast due to the presence of a deep-layer trough along the