Hal Pierce

High Level Of Tropical Cyclone Activity South Of The Equator

Tropical cylone activity has recently increased in the the Southern Hemisphere. On March 10, 2014 the TRMM satellite viewed three tropical storms within two hours. The images above use data received by the TRMM satellite when it flew above tropical storm HADI on March 10, 2014 at 0528 UTC. TRMM found that almost all heavy rainfall with HADI was located in the Coral Sea well off the northeastern coast of Australia. Data from TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument were used in the image on the right to show the 3-D structure within the tropical storm. Tropical storm LUSI was located near

TRMM Observes Storm Moving From California Eastward

Images are routinely produced using TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) data which show the global area covered by the satellite. These "Quick Look" images use Microwave brightness temperatures at 85.5 GHZ and at 37.0 GHZ combined in the red, green and blue components (guns) of the images. These false color images can be used to distinguish land from water and show the differences between land surfaces such as deserts, snow cover and sea ice. On these images areas of dry atmosphere over water appear as blue and moist atmosphere is dark blue. Snow cover over land appears as white or grey, deserts are

Tropical Storm Faxai

Tropical storm FAXAI meandered in a area southeast of Guam for the past few days and is now predicted to move toward the north passing well to the east of Guam. The TRMM satellite had a good daytime view of the tropical storm on March 2, 2247 UTC. TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data revealed that FAXAI had heavy rain falling at a rate of over 89 mm/hr (~3.5 inches). A few rainshowers from FAXAI are shown affecting GUAM.

Tropical Storm Faxai Forms Southeast Of Guam

A tropical depression that developed southeast of Guam was upgraded to a tropical storm called FAXAI early Saturday morning (local time). The TRMM satellite has had several good looks of the tropical storm during it's formation. As it passed over head on February 27, 2014 at 2357 UTC the satellite had an outstanding daytime view of the developing tropical cyclone . Rainfall data collected by TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments are shown overlaid on enhanced visible and infrared images from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS). TRMM PR data indicated

TRMM Sees Tornadic Thunderstorms

The TRMM satellite passed above a line of severe thunderstorms over the eastern United States on February 21, 2014 at about 1148UTC (6:48 AM EST). Several reports of tornadoes in Illinois were associated with this system yesterday. A possible tornado was reported in Georgia this morning. The 3-D image below shows a TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) slice through the line of severe thunderstorms. One tall thunderstorm in the Florida panhandle was shown reaching heights of about 13.8km (~8.5 miles) and returning Radar reflectivity values of over 58dBZ to the satellite. Rain was found by TRMM PR to

Tropical Cyclone Guito's Rainfall

The TRMM satellite had a look at tropical cyclone Guito in the Mozambique Channel on February 18, 2014 at 1525 UTC. This early evening view occurred only about three hours after Guito attained tropical storm intensity of 35kts (~40 mph). TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) had better coverage of Guito than the Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument whose swath was well to the south of the tropical cyclone's center of circulation. TRMM TMI revealed that Guito was producing rain at a rate of over 50mm/hr (~ 2 inches) in the center of the Mozambique Channel and scattered light rain on Madagascar's western

Precipitation Measured from U.S. Winter Storm

Freezing rain and snow from a winter storm have caused power outages and deaths from the southeastern to the northeastern United States. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is used to estimate precipitation for much of the globe. TMPA (liquid) precipitation totals (mm) are shown for the week from February 7-14, 2014 when a winter storm was moving through the area. Snow depths can be expected to be 10 to 12 times that for the same amount of rainfall. Liquid precipitation estimates of over 110mm (~4.3 inches) are

Tropical Cyclone Fobane

Tropical cyclone Fobane was located southeast of Reunion Island in the southwest Indian Ocean when the TRMM satellite passed over on February 11, 2014 at 0035 UTC. Fobane was very small but contained a few powerful convective thunderstorms near the tropical cyclone's center of circulation. TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) measured rain falling at a rate of over 68mm/hr (~2.7 inches) in these storms. The image above shows a simulated 3-D view using data from TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument. Those data found a few of the powerful storms near Fobane's center were reaching heights of

TRMM Visits Edilson Again

The TRMM satellite had an excellent early morning look at Edilson on February 7, 2014 at 0237 UTC (~ 0628 local time) when it passed directly above the tropical cyclone . A rainfall analysis from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments is shown overlaid on an enhanced visible/infrared image from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS). The area covered by TRMM's Precipitation radar (PR) data is shown in a lighter shade. Those data show Edilson south of Reunion and Mauritius Islands dropping it's heaviest rain at a rate of over 175mm/hr (~6.9 inches) in an

Tropical Cyclone Edilson Near Mauritius

Tropical Cyclone Edilson was passing close to the islands of Mauritius and Reunion, in the south Indian Ocean, when the TRMM satellite flew above on February 6, 2014 at 0332 UTC. Rainfall from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments is shown overlaid on an enhanced visible/infrared image from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS). TRMM TMI data showed that moderate to heavy rain was falling at a rate of over 30mm/hr (about 1.1 inches) just to the southeast of Mauritius. With sustained winds of about 55kts (~63 mph), Edilson is much weaker than deadly