heavy rainfall

IMERG rainfall from the Pakistan Floods 2020
In the last week of August 2020, Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, received over 8 inches of rainfall according to NASA's IMERG dataset, causing destructive flooding in the region. The amount of rain that fell that week is roughly equivalent to the amount that Karachi typically receives in an entire year, based on IMERG's 19-year global climatology. In a typical year, most of Karachi's rain will fall in July and August, but the rainfall during the week of August 23rd was unusually heavy. The top panel of the three panels in this image shows the depth of the 7-day rainfall accumulation in

Italy's Extreme Rainfall Examined With IMERG

During the past week a strong low-pressure system moving through southern Europe battered, drenched and flooded Italy. It caused flooding, landslides and other damage to large areas of the country. The deaths of at least 11 people have been attributed to this stormy weather. High winds knocked down many trees and heavy rainfall from these storms contributed to flooding in large areas of Italy. Venice was inundated when heavy rain fell and a surge of water from the Adriatic Sea was pushed into the city by the storm's very high winds. Data from various satellites, that cover most of the globe

GPM Captures Monsoon Rains Bringing Flooding to India

The summer monsoon is a regular feature this time of year in India, and it can bring heavy rains to the region. However, periodically areas of low pressure can form within the general monsoon trough and bring even more rain. Although the extreme Himalayan topography located to the north is much more well-known, another contributing factor to the heavy rains along the southwest coast of India is the Western Ghats. Though much smaller than the Himalayas, this mountain range runs parallel to the West Coast of India with many peaks over 2,000 meters (~6,500 feet). As a result, the Western Ghats

NASA's IMERG Estimates Of Rainfall Over The Eastern United States

Most of the Eastern half of the United States had rainfall during the past week. Some parts of the country experienced heavy rainfall that resulted in flash floods and various other problems. Slow-moving storm systems and nearly stationary fronts were the cause of heavy rainfall over Virginia this past weekend. Several trees were brought down by a severe storm that hit Fredericksburg, Virginia Sunday Afternoon. Fallen trees blocked several roads, flash flooding occurred and electrical power was lost in that area. Continuing heavy rain also fell in Texas over the weekend. This provided some

GPM IMERG Adds Up Heavy Rainfall Over the U.S. East Coast

A stalled weather pattern led to persistent showers and thunderstorms moving up the eastern seaboard last week, resulting in significant rainfall amounts and numerous flood warnings. A nearly stationary elongated upper-level trough of low pressure stretching down from the Great Lakes to Florida combined with a persistent Bermuda High off the coast to channel a steady flow of warm, humid air up the eastern seaboard. The result was a week of re-occurring showers and thunderstorms across the region. The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM or IMERG is used to estimate precipitation from

Flooding Rainfall Over the U.S. East Coast Examined by GPM

Flood watches and warnings have been issued today for states from North Carolina through New York. Major flooding of rivers and streams is forecast in Pennsylvania as heavy rainfall continues. A Large blocking high located east of Nova Scotia and Low Pressure over the upper mid west has been funneling moisture over the Mid-Atlantic states. This weather pattern includes a strong upper level trough with it’s axis becoming oriented from the Great Lakes through the eastern Gulf Of Mexico. This resulted in a dip in the jet stream that has been transporting tremendous amounts of moisture from the

India's Deadly Monsoon Rainfall Measured With GPM IMERG

India's southwest monsoon (summer rainy season) normally occurs between June and September. This year's monsoon has been assessed as average but India's Meteorological Department statistics show that daily mean rainfall for the country has recently been above normal. At least 15 people were killed by floods and landslides in India on Wednesday July 11, 2018. So far this year, close to 200 deaths may have resulted from India's heavy monsoon rainfall. These estimates of rainfall accumulation were constructed using data from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG). Algorithms

Southern Texas' Flooding Rainfall Examined With IMERG

Extremely heavy rainfall caused a flash flood emergency over southern Texas this week. More than 15 inches (381 mm) of rain fell in Hidalgo County, Texas since Tuesday June 19, 2018. The Governor of Texas declared a state of emergency for six counties in South Texas Thursday afternoon. Heavy rain had ended Friday morning but occasional showers were still occurring over southern Texas. At 4:28 AM CDT Friday June 22, 2018 the National Weather Service in Brownsville, Texas issued a "Flood Warning for Urban Areas and Small Streams in... Southwestern Hidalgo County in Deep South Texas..."

Heavy Rainfall Across the U.S. Measured from Space

For close to two weeks the combination of a nearly stationary front and tropical moisture caused almost continuous precipitation over much of the Mid-Atlantic. Record amounts of rain fell over the eastern United States with over a foot of rain reported in some parts of the Mid-Atlantic. The excessive rain led to flooding along several rivers including the Potomac river. This image shows anomalous rainfall for the period from May 11-20, 2018. This analysis used climatology data that were based on measurements by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite from 1997- 2015. The TRMM

Severe Midwest Storms Probed By GPM Satellite

The GPM core observatory satellite flew over stormy weather in the Midwest on Saturday February 24, 2018 at 1610 UTC (10:10 AM CST). Floods and very severe thunderstorms were developing with this slow moving storm complex. Later in the day tornadoes within these storms caused destruction and injuries in the states of Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. Tornadoes and flooding were blamed for at least four fatalities. Kentucky was particularly hard hit with Saturday evening tornadoes moving through southwestern Kentucky causing multiple injuries and at least three deaths. GPM's microwave