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Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and United States of America from 2005
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Heavy Rainfall Leads to Sout
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| Title |
Heavy Rainfall Leads to Southern California Mudslides (WMS) |
| Abstract |
In January 2005, heavy rains in southern California caused flooding and mudslides. A flow of moisture known as a 'Pineapple Express' because it originates in the Pacific subtropics near Hawaii can cause severe winter storms in California when conditions are right. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observered heavy rainfall near San Diego during a five-day period in January 2005. This visualization shows accumulation of rainfall--each frame shows the total amount of rain since the start of the measurement period. |
| Completed |
2005-04-22 |
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Heavy Rainfall Leads to Sout
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| Title |
Heavy Rainfall Leads to Southern California Mudslides (WMS) |
| Abstract |
In January 2005, heavy rains in southern California caused flooding and mudslides. A flow of moisture known as a 'Pineapple Express' because it originates in the Pacific subtropics near Hawaii can cause severe winter storms in California when conditions are right. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observered heavy rainfall near San Diego during a five-day period in January 2005. This visualization shows accumulation of rainfall--each frame shows the total amount of rain since the start of the measurement period. |
| Completed |
2005-04-22 |
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Heavy Rain in the Northeaste
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| Title |
Heavy Rain in the Northeastern United States |
| Description |
Rain was still falling a full week after a wet weather front moved up the U.S. East Coast. The rain had not abated when this image was created using data collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] satellite between October 7 and October 14, 2005. The image shows rainfall totals in colors ranging from blue, lightest totals, to orange, the heaviest totals. The central and northern Appalachian Mountains are covered with a wide swath of yellow and green, representing 100-150 millimeters (4 to 6 inches) of rainfall. Orange over parts of northern New Jersey and southeastern New York State shows regions that received up to 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain. As the rain continued to fall, flash floods swamped many regions, and rivers rose. Many evacuated in the face of flooding, say news reports. The rain was brought to the region by a slow-moving frontal system. Stretching from the Florida panhandle to Maine, the front drew tropical moisture—including the remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy—up the East Coast. The front parked itself off the coast, allowing an area of low pressure to form just off of the Delmarva Peninsula. The low brought a second round of heavy rain to the Northeast. The rainfall totals shown here were taken from the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. MPA provides rainfall estimates over the global Tropics. The image is an example of the value of the TRMM satellite, which was launched in November 1997 to provide better estimates of rainfall over the global Tropics. Since that time, TRMM has been providing unprecedented estimates of rainfall over the Tropics using its array of passive and active sensors. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Heavy Rain in the Northeaste
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| Title |
Heavy Rain in the Northeastern United States |
| Description |
Rain was still falling a full week after a wet weather front moved up the U.S. East Coast. The rain had not abated when this image was created using data collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] satellite between October 7 and October 14, 2005. The image shows rainfall totals in colors ranging from blue, lightest totals, to orange, the heaviest totals. The central and northern Appalachian Mountains are covered with a wide swath of yellow and green, representing 100-150 millimeters (4 to 6 inches) of rainfall. Orange over parts of northern New Jersey and southeastern New York State shows regions that received up to 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain. As the rain continued to fall, flash floods swamped many regions, and rivers rose. Many evacuated in the face of flooding, say news reports. The rain was brought to the region by a slow-moving frontal system. Stretching from the Florida panhandle to Maine, the front drew tropical moisture—including the remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy—up the East Coast. The front parked itself off the coast, allowing an area of low pressure to form just off of the Delmarva Peninsula. The low brought a second round of heavy rain to the Northeast. The rainfall totals shown here were taken from the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. MPA provides rainfall estimates over the global Tropics. The image is an example of the value of the TRMM satellite, which was launched in November 1997 to provide better estimates of rainfall over the global Tropics. Since that time, TRMM has been providing unprecedented estimates of rainfall over the Tropics using its array of passive and active sensors. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Drought in the Southern Unit
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Drought in the Southern United States |
| Description |
Rainfall across the United States in the winter of 2005-06 has shown the classic pattern of a La Niña event. La Niña is a climate anomaly (departure from average conditions) that consists of cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the central and eastern Pacific and warmer-than-average SSTs over the western Pacific. Changes in the atmospheric circulation occur during La Niña events, as well. These combined ocean-atmosphere changes are likely responsible for the drought in the Southwest, the South, the central Plains, and Florida that has led to several devastating wildfires this season. This image shows where daily rainfall was above and below average in the United States between October 2005 and January 2006 compared to the eight-year average for that time frame. Places where rainfall was above average are in blue and green, while places rainfall was below average are in orange and red. The data are from the Tropical-Rainfall-Measuring-Mission-based, near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Pacific Northwest (green and blue areas), especially along the coast and over the coastal ranges of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington (blue areas) received more precipitation than usual. Almost the entire rest of the country, barring New England, had below-normal rainfall. The most intense rainfall deficits (orange and red areas) include the area stretching from Texas up through the central Plains and Upper Midwest, as well as the Gulf Coast, most of Florida, and along the southern Atlantic coast. In the Southwest, the rainfall deficit added to the stress of several years of below-average rainfall. Most of Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, and central Oklahoma have received less than 25 percent of their normal rainfall for the period. The current La Niña is expected to persist for the next several months. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was launched in November 1997. It measures rainfall over the global tropics using both passive and active sensors, including the first precipitation radar in space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Hurricane Dennis
| Title |
Hurricane Dennis |
| Description |
On the heals of the devastating 2004 hurricane season, the 2005 season is so far off to a fast and furious start with the emergence of major hurricane early in the season. By July 8, 2005, Hurricane Dennis was an intense Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale and was passing directly over Cuba, also hit by Hurricane Charley in 2004. The storm is expected to emerge into the Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane, posing a powerful threat to the Gulf Coast of the United States. This image shows Dennis as it was strengthening from a tropical storm into a hurricane on July 6, 2005. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured this image at 5:31 p.m. EDT (21:31 UTC). The image reveals rain rates associated with Dennis, with heavy rains shown in red. The rain field surrounding the storm was becoming symmetrical, wrapping around the center of circulation. TRMM also reveals an area of intense rainfall (dark red area) very near the center of Dennis that is likely associated with a convective burst, an intense section of the storm that may be a precursor to intensification. Hurricanes act as large heat engines. The fuel for these engines comes from the condensation of water vapor in the atmosphere. As water vapor condenses into the tiny cloud droplets that lead to precipitation (shown here as rainfall), heat is released. This heat, known as latent heat, is what drives the circulation of the storm. In general, the more heat that is being released, the more intense the storm will be. This heating is most effective in driving the storm if it occurs near the center of the storm as is the case shown here with Dennis. Less than an hour after this image was taken, Dennis was re-classified as a hurricane with maximum sustained winds measured at 80 miles per hour by a hurricane hunter aircraft. Launched in November of 1997 to measure rainfall over the global tropics, TRMM has proven itself to be a valuable platform for observing tropical cyclones. Rain rates in the center part of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the only radar that can measure precipitation from space. Rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. NASA image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Hurricane Irene
| Title |
Hurricane Irene |
| Description |
Just as Irene strengthened into a hurricane, it veered north and east, sparing the east coast of the United States. Irene continued the record-fast pace of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, becoming the earliest 9th named storm, well before peak season in September. Irene was also a Cape Verde storm, like Emily, originating west of the Cape Verde Islands in the central Atlantic. Storms typically do not form this far east so early in the season because water temperatures in the region are not usually warm enough. However, this part of the Atlantic has been much warmer than normal [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16996 ] early in the season. This image, captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite on August 15, 2005, at 1:43 a.m. EDT (05:43 UTC), shows Irene just after it became a hurricane. The image shows the height of rain columns within the hurricane. Tall rain columns provide a clue that the storm is strengthening. As water vapor rises, it cools and condenses into rain, releasing heat. It is this heat that feeds the storm. The higher water vapor rises before cooling, the more intense the storm tends to be. In this image, the highest towers, the tallest of which reaches about 17 kilometers into the atmosphere, produce the heaviest rain, shown in red. Since these towers are like pistons that convert energy from water vapor into a powerful wind- and rain-producing engine, high towers can be a sign of future strengthening. Indeed, not long after this image was taken, Irene’'s winds intensified to 150 kilometers per hour (90 mph) on August 15. Since its launch in 1997, the TRMM has been providing valuable images and information on hurricanes and tropical cyclones over the Tropics. In this image, rain rates are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the only radar capable of measuring rainfall from space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Hurricane Irene
| Title |
Hurricane Irene |
| Description |
Just as Irene strengthened into a hurricane, it veered north and east, sparing the east coast of the United States. Irene continued the record-fast pace of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, becoming the earliest 9th named storm, well before peak season in September. Irene was also a Cape Verde storm, like Emily, originating west of the Cape Verde Islands in the central Atlantic. Storms typically do not form this far east so early in the season because water temperatures in the region are not usually warm enough. However, this part of the Atlantic has been much warmer than normal [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16996 ] early in the season. This image, captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite on August 15, 2005, at 1:43 a.m. EDT (05:43 UTC), shows Irene just after it became a hurricane. The image shows the height of rain columns within the hurricane. Tall rain columns provide a clue that the storm is strengthening. As water vapor rises, it cools and condenses into rain, releasing heat. It is this heat that feeds the storm. The higher water vapor rises before cooling, the more intense the storm tends to be. In this image, the highest towers, the tallest of which reaches about 17 kilometers into the atmosphere, produce the heaviest rain, shown in red. Since these towers are like pistons that convert energy from water vapor into a powerful wind- and rain-producing engine, high towers can be a sign of future strengthening. Indeed, not long after this image was taken, Irene’'s winds intensified to 150 kilometers per hour (90 mph) on August 15. Since its launch in 1997, the TRMM has been providing valuable images and information on hurricanes and tropical cyclones over the Tropics. In this image, rain rates are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the only radar capable of measuring rainfall from space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Hurricane Ophelia
| Title |
Hurricane Ophelia |
| Description |
Over the second week of September, Ophelia meandered off of the southeast coast of the United States due to weak steering currents. The system, which began as a depression over the Bahamas on September 6, 2005, twice stalled out and made loops: once just east of Cape Canveral, Florida, and the other farther out to sea east of Georgia. Ophelia also flip-flopped several times between a strong tropical storm and a weak Category 1 hurricane. Despite its very slow movement, which usually leads to weakening due to upwelling of cooler water, Ophelia has maintained itself as a result of warm waters and its proximity to the Gulf Stream. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (or TRMM) satellite has been following Ophelia's progress along the East Coast. This image shows the height of the precipitation columns within Ophelia with a cutaway view through the southern part of the eye. The large eye is easily visible in the center along with the area of intense rain in the southwest corner of the eye (dark red area). However, there are no tall towers surrounding the eye that might indicate imminent strengthening. Launched in 1997 to measure rainfall over the tropics, TRMM has proven to be a valuable tool for monitoring and studying tropical cyclones. TRMM's compliment of instruments includes the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the only radar capable of measuring precipitation from space, and the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), a passive intrument that can also measure rainfall. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Hurricane Katrina: Natural H
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
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katrina_trmm_23-31aug05
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-08-31 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
katrina_trmm_23-31aug05 |
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Heavy Rain in the Northeaste
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
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ne_floods_7oct-14oct05
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-10-14 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
ne_floods_7oct-14oct05 |
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Hurricane Ophelia: Natural H
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Over the second week of Sept
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ophelia_trmm_14sep05
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-09-14 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
ophelia_trmm_14sep05 |
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Drought in the Southern Unit
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Rainfall across the United S
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usrainfallanom_trm_200601_pa
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| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-10-01 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
usrainfallanom_trm_200601_palette |
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