IMERG

GPM IMERG Adds Up Heavy Rains from Typhoon Jebi

Typhoon Jebi brought flooding to Japan and NASA’s IMERG estimated rainfall over the country and the surrounding region for a one-week period. The above image shows accumulated IMERG rainfall estimates over Japan and the surrounding region for the 1-week period from August 29 to Sept. 5, 2018 show rainfall amounts on the order of 100 mm (~4 inches, shown in red) or more covering much of the main island of Honshu and Shikoku in the south. Much of the band of rain oriented east-west across central Japan was due to a frontal system that brought rain to the area before Jebi made landfall. Super

IMERG Real Time IR Outage

For the period 03Z August 21 to 16Z August 22, the IMERG real time system experienced an outage of CPC 4-km IR data. Despite the outage, IMERG EARLY and LATE products continued to be produced but users should be aware that the quality of these products during this period may be suspect and should be used judiciously. Furthermore, the products for the first few hours after the outage are less than optimal due to IMERG restart but should be acceptable for most users. Detailed Impacts: (1) The precipitation propagation vectors for the period slowly degraded after 03Z August 21 due to the missing

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
NASA Rainfall Data and Global Fire Weather
The Global Fire WEather Database (GFWED) integrates different weather factors influencing the likelihood of a vegetation fire starting and spreading. It is based on the Fire Weather Index (FWI) System, which tracks the dryness of three general fuel classes, and the potential behavior of a fire if it were to start. Each day, FWI values are calculated from global weather data, including satellite rainfall data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission.

Hurricane Bud's Rainfall Measured with GPM IMERG

Beneficial rainfall from hurricane Bud's remnants has spread into the Desert Southwest. This rainfall may be helpful in an area that has been experiencing exceptional drought accompanied by wildfires. Bud's rainfall may also signal the beginning of the summer monsoon over the Desert Southwest. The image above shows estimates of accumulated rainfall using IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM) data generated during the period from June 9-18, 2018. This rainfall occurred during the period when Bud formed southwest of Mexico, intensified into a powerful category four hurricane
Using Precipitation Data to Track Cholera
Diarrheal diseases such as cholera continue to be a public health threat. Prediction of an outbreak of diarrheal disease, specifically cholera, following a natural disaster remains a challenge, especially in regions lacking basic safe civil infrastructure such as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The underlying mechanism of a cholera outbreak is associated with disruption in the human access to safe WASH infrastructure that results in the population using unsafe water containing pathogenic vibrios. Presence and abundance of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, are related to modalities of the environment and regional weather as well as the climate systems.

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

Tasmania's Flooding Rainfall Measured With NASA's IMERG

Last week Tasmanian's were evacuated, businesses were flooded and cars washed away as extreme rainfall accompanied a strong cold front and a low pressure system that spawned violent storms. Hobart city, located in southeastern Tasmania, received record breaking rainfall of more than 100 mm (3.93 inches) in a single day. A strong pressure gradient developed between the complex low pressure center over Tasmania and high pressure that was moving eastward over the Great Australian Bight (Southern Ocean). This strong pressure gradient resulted in destructively high south-easterly winds over

NASA's IMERG Shows Devastating Rainfall Over East Africa

Heavy seasonal rainfall has recently caused flooding in Kenya resulting in displacement of over 244,000. This deluge follows the severe drought that afflicted East Africa in 2017. The estimated death toll from flooding and mudslides has recently been increased to about 100 people. Rainfall accumulation estimates from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data are shown here for the period from April 27 to early May 4, 2018. During this period heavy seasonal precipitation fell over Kenya. Rainfall totals in some areas near the Indian Ocean coast were estimated by IMERG to