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Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) of Haiti and Dominican Republic
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Hurricane Ernesto
| Title |
Hurricane Ernesto |
| Description |
On Sunday August 27, 2006, Ernesto became the first storm of the Atlantic season to reach hurricane intensity. Ernesto did not maintain hurricane intensity for long, however, and was soon downgraded back to a tropical storm after grazing the southwestern tip of Hispaniola. Ernesto formed from an easterly wave—a low-pressure ripple in the atmosphere—that moved west across the Atlantic and into the Caribbean. After passing through the Windward Islands, the wave developed into the fifth tropical depression of the year on August 24. This series of images shows the development of the storm. The earliest image (bottom image in the trilogy) shows the storm in the southeastern Caribbean soon after it had formed. The image was taken 10:41 p.m. local time on August 24, 2006, (02:41 UTC on August 25) by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Scattered areas of light (blue) to moderate (green) rain and little evidence of classic hurricane organization reveal that the system was still in its early stages of development. The storm developed into Tropical Storm Ernesto the next day, when the middle image in the series was taken. As the system tracked west-northwest, it encountered southwesterly winds at higher altitudes, a pattern that tends to shear off the tops of developing storms and to prevent them from gathering strength. These winds kept the storm from gaining much strength despite warm sea surface temperatures. Warm water is the engine that drives tropical storms. When this image was taken at 7:34 a.m. local time (11:34 UTC) on August 26, Ernesto was passing south of the Dominican Republic. At that time, intense areas of rain were present within the storm (red areas). However, Ernesto still did not have a visible eye, nor a particularly well-developed circulation, the spiraling band of clouds typically associated with tropical storms and hurricanes. At that time, the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ], reported that Ernesto's maximum sustained winds were 74 kilometers per hour (46 miles per hour). Throughout the day, Ernesto continued to encounter high-altitude winds from the southwest that pushed the storm's top eastward, creating the elongated oval shape seen in the top image. This image was obtained at 10:24 p.m. local time on August 26 (02:24 UTC, August 27), when Ernesto was approaching Haiti. Although the center of the storm did not fall within the center of the TRMM instruments' fields of view, the rainfall pattern confirms that high-altitude winds were still confining the heaviest rains to the eastern side of the storm. At the time of this image, Ernesto's sustained winds were up slightly to 92 km/hr (58 mph). During the night of August 26, the shear across Ernesto finally eased off, and the storm responded by intensifying into a Category 1 hurricane. However, by this time, Ernesto was close to southwestern Haiti. Ernesto crossed the southwestern tip of Haiti on August 27, which caused it to weaken back to a tropical storm. Ernesto then continued northwest before making landfall in southeastern Cuba several hours later. As of August 29, Ernesto remained a somewhat disorganized tropical storm system. The storm was expected to reorganize as it left Cuba, but it was unclear if it would have enough time to develop back to hurricane strength before making a projected landfall in south Florida. The TRMM satellite was placed into service in November 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM provides valuable images and information on storm systems around the tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, including the first precipitation radar in 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 Jeanne
| Title |
Hurricane Jeanne |
| Description |
After an eventful voyage through the Atlantic, Hurricane Jeanne struck the east coast of Florida on Sunday, September 26, 2004, as shown in the image above. The data in this image was collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://www.trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite at 09:47 UTC (4:47 AM EDT), when the storm was at Category 3 on the Saffir/Simpson scale, with sustained surface winds of 110 mph. In the image above, the black bar in the lower left corner is 70 miles long, north is up, and the shades of gray indicate the cloud height with white indicating the highest clouds. Color contours indicate the surface rainfall rate. The cloud height information comes from the satellite?s infrared instrument and the rain estimates from the satellite's passive microwave instrument. By combining the information from both instruments, we can see that, at the time of the satellite overflight, most of Florida was under dense overcast skies but heavy rain was falling only over one portion of Florida's east coast. Scientists are trying to improve their understanding of the complex relationship between clouds and rain. To have a better perspective on the structure of Hurricane Jeanne at landfall, it helps to consider the storm?s evolution over the past ten days. A composite image shows data from five of the TRMM satellite?s overflights of Hurricane Jeanne between September 17 and 26, 2004. The track of the storm is shown in red, based on data from NOAA?s National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ]. The tracks of the other three hurricanes that have struck Florida during the past two months (Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan) are shown in gray. Between September 17 and 18, Jeanne became disorganized due to its collision with the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it left over 1000 people dead. On September 20, Jeanne reformed a tight eye, and by September 23, there was a symmetric ring of rain surrounding the eye, which suggests a well organized storm. Each of the five overflights mentioned above are shown in greater detail in this image sequence. On September 17, Jeanne was merely a tropical storm after having weakened as it passed over Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, Jeanne remained fairly well organized with heavy rain to the north and east of the low pressure center. The low pressure center had just made landfall over the Dominican Republic and was approaching Haiti. On September 18, Jeanne was so poorly organized that it is difficult to determine the center of the storm by looking at the cloud cover. Several days of favorable conditions in the Atlantic gave Jeanne a chance to regain hurricane strength winds. By September 26, when Jeanne struck central Florida, not only had its winds accelerated to 110 mph, but the area covered by clouds and heavy rain had increased. TRMM [ http://www.trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ], is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Image and caption courtesy Owen Kelley, Steve Lang, and Jeff Halverson, NASA?s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Hurricane Jeanne
| Title |
Hurricane Jeanne |
| Description |
After an eventful voyage through the Atlantic, Hurricane Jeanne struck the east coast of Florida on Sunday, September 26, 2004, as shown in the image above. The data in this image was collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://www.trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite at 09:47 UTC (4:47 AM EDT), when the storm was at Category 3 on the Saffir/Simpson scale, with sustained surface winds of 110 mph. In the image above, the black bar in the lower left corner is 70 miles long, north is up, and the shades of gray indicate the cloud height with white indicating the highest clouds. Color contours indicate the surface rainfall rate. The cloud height information comes from the satellite?s infrared instrument and the rain estimates from the satellite's passive microwave instrument. By combining the information from both instruments, we can see that, at the time of the satellite overflight, most of Florida was under dense overcast skies but heavy rain was falling only over one portion of Florida's east coast. Scientists are trying to improve their understanding of the complex relationship between clouds and rain. To have a better perspective on the structure of Hurricane Jeanne at landfall, it helps to consider the storm?s evolution over the past ten days. A composite image shows data from five of the TRMM satellite?s overflights of Hurricane Jeanne between September 17 and 26, 2004. The track of the storm is shown in red, based on data from NOAA?s National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ]. The tracks of the other three hurricanes that have struck Florida during the past two months (Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan) are shown in gray. Between September 17 and 18, Jeanne became disorganized due to its collision with the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it left over 1000 people dead. On September 20, Jeanne reformed a tight eye, and by September 23, there was a symmetric ring of rain surrounding the eye, which suggests a well organized storm. Each of the five overflights mentioned above are shown in greater detail in this image sequence. On September 17, Jeanne was merely a tropical storm after having weakened as it passed over Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, Jeanne remained fairly well organized with heavy rain to the north and east of the low pressure center. The low pressure center had just made landfall over the Dominican Republic and was approaching Haiti. On September 18, Jeanne was so poorly organized that it is difficult to determine the center of the storm by looking at the cloud cover. Several days of favorable conditions in the Atlantic gave Jeanne a chance to regain hurricane strength winds. By September 26, when Jeanne struck central Florida, not only had its winds accelerated to 110 mph, but the area covered by clouds and heavy rain had increased. TRMM [ http://www.trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ], is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Image and caption courtesy Owen Kelley, Steve Lang, and Jeff Halverson, NASA?s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Hurricane Jeanne
| Title |
Hurricane Jeanne |
| Description |
After an eventful voyage through the Atlantic, Hurricane Jeanne struck the east coast of Florida on Sunday, September 26, 2004, as shown in the image above. The data in this image was collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://www.trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite at 09:47 UTC (4:47 AM EDT), when the storm was at Category 3 on the Saffir/Simpson scale, with sustained surface winds of 110 mph. In the image above, the black bar in the lower left corner is 70 miles long, north is up, and the shades of gray indicate the cloud height with white indicating the highest clouds. Color contours indicate the surface rainfall rate. The cloud height information comes from the satellite?s infrared instrument and the rain estimates from the satellite's passive microwave instrument. By combining the information from both instruments, we can see that, at the time of the satellite overflight, most of Florida was under dense overcast skies but heavy rain was falling only over one portion of Florida's east coast. Scientists are trying to improve their understanding of the complex relationship between clouds and rain. To have a better perspective on the structure of Hurricane Jeanne at landfall, it helps to consider the storm?s evolution over the past ten days. A composite image shows data from five of the TRMM satellite?s overflights of Hurricane Jeanne between September 17 and 26, 2004. The track of the storm is shown in red, based on data from NOAA?s National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ]. The tracks of the other three hurricanes that have struck Florida during the past two months (Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan) are shown in gray. Between September 17 and 18, Jeanne became disorganized due to its collision with the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it left over 1000 people dead. On September 20, Jeanne reformed a tight eye, and by September 23, there was a symmetric ring of rain surrounding the eye, which suggests a well organized storm. Each of the five overflights mentioned above are shown in greater detail in this image sequence. On September 17, Jeanne was merely a tropical storm after having weakened as it passed over Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, Jeanne remained fairly well organized with heavy rain to the north and east of the low pressure center. The low pressure center had just made landfall over the Dominican Republic and was approaching Haiti. On September 18, Jeanne was so poorly organized that it is difficult to determine the center of the storm by looking at the cloud cover. Several days of favorable conditions in the Atlantic gave Jeanne a chance to regain hurricane strength winds. By September 26, when Jeanne struck central Florida, not only had its winds accelerated to 110 mph, but the area covered by clouds and heavy rain had increased. TRMM [ http://www.trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ], is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Image and caption courtesy Owen Kelley, Steve Lang, and Jeff Halverson, NASA?s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Severe Floods Sweep Across H
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| Title |
Severe Floods Sweep Across Haiti and the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Over the past week, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries on the island of Hispaniola, have been ravaged by severe flooding after several days of heavy rain. Hundreds have perished in the two countries as a direct result of mud slides and flash flooding. The hardest hit area was in and around the town of Jimani in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic near the border with Haiti. The Soliel River overflowed its banks before dawn on the morning of the 25th of May 2004 catching the town by surprise. A trough of low pressure across the central Caribbean provided the impetus for the numerous showers and heavy rains. The effect was amplified as moisture-laden low-level southerly winds from the Caribbean interacted with the topography of the island. The Dominican weather service reported that 10 inches of rain fell near Jimani in just 24 hours. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which was launched in November of 1997 uses both passive and active sensors to measure rainfall over the global tropics from space. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides quantitative rainfall estimates over the global tropics. The above images show rainfall accumulation between May 18 and May 25, 2004. The first lower shows MPA rainfall totals over the northern Caribbean. The red areas indicate rainfall totals in excess of 14 inches over most of Hispaniola. Darker red areas along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic show rainfall totals for the period approaching 24 inches. The second image provides a close-in view of rainfall contours over the same period. It shows that the highest totals are right along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and over the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic and exceed 550 mm (21.7 inches). The above animations show that the bulk of the rain appears to have fallen in a single day on May 23. This graph confirms what the animations show in more detail. It shows the instantaneous average rainfall over a 250-km radius centered at 19N 72W (near the center of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic) over the period. It reveals that most of the rain did, in fact, fall on the 23rd of May although significant amounts fell on May 22 and 24 as well. The dates begin at 00Z (midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 pm local time). This graph shows the accumulated rainfall with time for the same area and period. By 00Z on the 25th, an average of 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen over the area with a maximum single point accumulation of 598 mm (23.5 inches).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] 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 |
|
Severe Floods Sweep Across H
…
| Title |
Severe Floods Sweep Across Haiti and the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Over the past week, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries on the island of Hispaniola, have been ravaged by severe flooding after several days of heavy rain. Hundreds have perished in the two countries as a direct result of mud slides and flash flooding. The hardest hit area was in and around the town of Jimani in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic near the border with Haiti. The Soliel River overflowed its banks before dawn on the morning of the 25th of May 2004 catching the town by surprise. A trough of low pressure across the central Caribbean provided the impetus for the numerous showers and heavy rains. The effect was amplified as moisture-laden low-level southerly winds from the Caribbean interacted with the topography of the island. The Dominican weather service reported that 10 inches of rain fell near Jimani in just 24 hours. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which was launched in November of 1997 uses both passive and active sensors to measure rainfall over the global tropics from space. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides quantitative rainfall estimates over the global tropics. The above images show rainfall accumulation between May 18 and May 25, 2004. The first lower shows MPA rainfall totals over the northern Caribbean. The red areas indicate rainfall totals in excess of 14 inches over most of Hispaniola. Darker red areas along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic show rainfall totals for the period approaching 24 inches. The second image provides a close-in view of rainfall contours over the same period. It shows that the highest totals are right along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and over the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic and exceed 550 mm (21.7 inches). The above animations show that the bulk of the rain appears to have fallen in a single day on May 23. This graph confirms what the animations show in more detail. It shows the instantaneous average rainfall over a 250-km radius centered at 19N 72W (near the center of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic) over the period. It reveals that most of the rain did, in fact, fall on the 23rd of May although significant amounts fell on May 22 and 24 as well. The dates begin at 00Z (midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 pm local time). This graph shows the accumulated rainfall with time for the same area and period. By 00Z on the 25th, an average of 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen over the area with a maximum single point accumulation of 598 mm (23.5 inches).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] 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 |
|
Severe Floods Sweep Across H
…
| Title |
Severe Floods Sweep Across Haiti and the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Over the past week, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries on the island of Hispaniola, have been ravaged by severe flooding after several days of heavy rain. Hundreds have perished in the two countries as a direct result of mud slides and flash flooding. The hardest hit area was in and around the town of Jimani in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic near the border with Haiti. The Soliel River overflowed its banks before dawn on the morning of the 25th of May 2004 catching the town by surprise. A trough of low pressure across the central Caribbean provided the impetus for the numerous showers and heavy rains. The effect was amplified as moisture-laden low-level southerly winds from the Caribbean interacted with the topography of the island. The Dominican weather service reported that 10 inches of rain fell near Jimani in just 24 hours. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which was launched in November of 1997 uses both passive and active sensors to measure rainfall over the global tropics from space. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides quantitative rainfall estimates over the global tropics. The above images show rainfall accumulation between May 18 and May 25, 2004. The first lower shows MPA rainfall totals over the northern Caribbean. The red areas indicate rainfall totals in excess of 14 inches over most of Hispaniola. Darker red areas along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic show rainfall totals for the period approaching 24 inches. The second image provides a close-in view of rainfall contours over the same period. It shows that the highest totals are right along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and over the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic and exceed 550 mm (21.7 inches). The above animations show that the bulk of the rain appears to have fallen in a single day on May 23. This graph confirms what the animations show in more detail. It shows the instantaneous average rainfall over a 250-km radius centered at 19N 72W (near the center of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic) over the period. It reveals that most of the rain did, in fact, fall on the 23rd of May although significant amounts fell on May 22 and 24 as well. The dates begin at 00Z (midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 pm local time). This graph shows the accumulated rainfall with time for the same area and period. By 00Z on the 25th, an average of 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen over the area with a maximum single point accumulation of 598 mm (23.5 inches).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] 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 |
|
Severe Floods Sweep Across H
…
| Title |
Severe Floods Sweep Across Haiti and the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Over the past week, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries on the island of Hispaniola, have been ravaged by severe flooding after several days of heavy rain. Hundreds have perished in the two countries as a direct result of mud slides and flash flooding. The hardest hit area was in and around the town of Jimani in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic near the border with Haiti. The Soliel River overflowed its banks before dawn on the morning of the 25th of May 2004 catching the town by surprise. A trough of low pressure across the central Caribbean provided the impetus for the numerous showers and heavy rains. The effect was amplified as moisture-laden low-level southerly winds from the Caribbean interacted with the topography of the island. The Dominican weather service reported that 10 inches of rain fell near Jimani in just 24 hours. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which was launched in November of 1997 uses both passive and active sensors to measure rainfall over the global tropics from space. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides quantitative rainfall estimates over the global tropics. The above images show rainfall accumulation between May 18 and May 25, 2004. The first lower shows MPA rainfall totals over the northern Caribbean. The red areas indicate rainfall totals in excess of 14 inches over most of Hispaniola. Darker red areas along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic show rainfall totals for the period approaching 24 inches. The second image provides a close-in view of rainfall contours over the same period. It shows that the highest totals are right along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and over the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic and exceed 550 mm (21.7 inches). The above animations show that the bulk of the rain appears to have fallen in a single day on May 23. This graph confirms what the animations show in more detail. It shows the instantaneous average rainfall over a 250-km radius centered at 19N 72W (near the center of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic) over the period. It reveals that most of the rain did, in fact, fall on the 23rd of May although significant amounts fell on May 22 and 24 as well. The dates begin at 00Z (midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 pm local time). This graph shows the accumulated rainfall with time for the same area and period. By 00Z on the 25th, an average of 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen over the area with a maximum single point accumulation of 598 mm (23.5 inches).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] 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 |
|
Severe Floods Sweep Across H
…
| Title |
Severe Floods Sweep Across Haiti and the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Over the past week, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries on the island of Hispaniola, have been ravaged by severe flooding after several days of heavy rain. Hundreds have perished in the two countries as a direct result of mud slides and flash flooding. The hardest hit area was in and around the town of Jimani in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic near the border with Haiti. The Soliel River overflowed its banks before dawn on the morning of the 25th of May 2004 catching the town by surprise. A trough of low pressure across the central Caribbean provided the impetus for the numerous showers and heavy rains. The effect was amplified as moisture-laden low-level southerly winds from the Caribbean interacted with the topography of the island. The Dominican weather service reported that 10 inches of rain fell near Jimani in just 24 hours. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which was launched in November of 1997 uses both passive and active sensors to measure rainfall over the global tropics from space. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides quantitative rainfall estimates over the global tropics. The above images show rainfall accumulation between May 18 and May 25, 2004. The first lower shows MPA rainfall totals over the northern Caribbean. The red areas indicate rainfall totals in excess of 14 inches over most of Hispaniola. Darker red areas along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic show rainfall totals for the period approaching 24 inches. The second image provides a close-in view of rainfall contours over the same period. It shows that the highest totals are right along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and over the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic and exceed 550 mm (21.7 inches). The above animations show that the bulk of the rain appears to have fallen in a single day on May 23. This graph confirms what the animations show in more detail. It shows the instantaneous average rainfall over a 250-km radius centered at 19N 72W (near the center of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic) over the period. It reveals that most of the rain did, in fact, fall on the 23rd of May although significant amounts fell on May 22 and 24 as well. The dates begin at 00Z (midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 pm local time). This graph shows the accumulated rainfall with time for the same area and period. By 00Z on the 25th, an average of 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen over the area with a maximum single point accumulation of 598 mm (23.5 inches).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] 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 |
|
Severe Floods Sweep Across H
…
| Title |
Severe Floods Sweep Across Haiti and the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Over the past week, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries on the island of Hispaniola, have been ravaged by severe flooding after several days of heavy rain. Hundreds have perished in the two countries as a direct result of mud slides and flash flooding. The hardest hit area was in and around the town of Jimani in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic near the border with Haiti. The Soliel River overflowed its banks before dawn on the morning of the 25th of May 2004 catching the town by surprise. A trough of low pressure across the central Caribbean provided the impetus for the numerous showers and heavy rains. The effect was amplified as moisture-laden low-level southerly winds from the Caribbean interacted with the topography of the island. The Dominican weather service reported that 10 inches of rain fell near Jimani in just 24 hours. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which was launched in November of 1997 uses both passive and active sensors to measure rainfall over the global tropics from space. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides quantitative rainfall estimates over the global tropics. The above images show rainfall accumulation between May 18 and May 25, 2004. The first lower shows MPA rainfall totals over the northern Caribbean. The red areas indicate rainfall totals in excess of 14 inches over most of Hispaniola. Darker red areas along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic show rainfall totals for the period approaching 24 inches. The second image provides a close-in view of rainfall contours over the same period. It shows that the highest totals are right along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and over the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic and exceed 550 mm (21.7 inches). The above animations show that the bulk of the rain appears to have fallen in a single day on May 23. This graph confirms what the animations show in more detail. It shows the instantaneous average rainfall over a 250-km radius centered at 19N 72W (near the center of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic) over the period. It reveals that most of the rain did, in fact, fall on the 23rd of May although significant amounts fell on May 22 and 24 as well. The dates begin at 00Z (midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 pm local time). This graph shows the accumulated rainfall with time for the same area and period. By 00Z on the 25th, an average of 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen over the area with a maximum single point accumulation of 598 mm (23.5 inches).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] 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 |
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Tropical Storm Noel
| Title |
Tropical Storm Noel |
| Description |
After forming just south of Hispaniola on October 28, 2007, Tropical Storm Noel made landfall on the Haitian side of the island on October 29 with sustained winds reported at 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour or 45 knots). Even before making landfall, Noel began to soak the island with heavy downpours. Despite the center of circulation passing over Haiti on the western side of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic, located on the eastern side of the island, felt the brunt of the rain. The storm's asymmetric structure with most of the rain occurring east of the center as well as southerly winds wrapping around the right side of the storm combined to bring the heaviest rain to the Dominican Republic. This image shows rainfall totals over Haiti and the Dominican Republic between October 26 and October 30, 2007, according to the near-real time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis at Goddard Space Flight Center. The analysis is based in part on data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite. The highest rainfall totals (shown in the darkest red) are over the south-central Dominican Republic and are on the order of 400 millimeters (about 16 inches). Most of the east side of Hispaniola received at least 150 millimeters (about 6 inches) of rain (shown in yellow). Rainfall totals over Haiti were much less, but still significant, ranging from about 1 to 6 inches (shown by the blue and green areas). As of October 30, 25 people had been reported dead with many more still missing, reported CNN. After passing Haiti, Noel curved westward over Cuba. The storm was expected to turn northeastward and parallel the Eastern Seaboard. TRMM, launched in 1997 to observe rainfall over the Tropics, 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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Tropical Storm Noel
| Title |
Tropical Storm Noel |
| Description |
Though not the most powerful storm of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane season, Tropical Storm Noel was among the most deadly. Only Category 5 Hurricane Felix [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14490 ] and its associated flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14514 ] had a higher toll. Slow-moving Tropical Storm Noel inundated the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas with heavy rain between October 28 and November 1, 2007. The resulting floods and mudslides left at least 115 dead and thousands homeless throughout the Caribbean, reported the Associated Press on November 2, 2007. The president of the Dominican Republic, the worst-hit nation, declared a state of emergency. After crossing Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Noel moved over northern Cuba and then tracked northeast over the Bahamas. The storm was expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane, move quickly north along the east coast of the United States, and strike Nova Scotia, Canada, as an extra-tropical storm on November 4, said the National Hurricane Center. [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] This image shows the distribution of the rainfall that made Noel a deadly storm. The image shows rainfall totals as measured by the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from October 26 through November 1, 2007. The analysis is based on measurements taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The heaviest rainfall fell in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, northeast of Noel's center. Areas of dark red show that rainfall totals over the south-central Dominican Republic and parts of the Bahamas were over 551 millimeters (21 inches). Much of eastern Hispaniola, including both the Dominican Republic and Haiti received at least 200 mm (about 8 inches) of rain, shown in yellow. Rainfall totals over Haiti and Cuba were less, with a range of at least 50 mm (2 inches) to over 200 mm (8 inches). TRMM, launched in 1997 to observe rainfall over the Tropics with a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) |
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Severe Floods Sweep Across H
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
hispaniola_TRMM18-25may04
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-05-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
hispaniola_TRMM18-25may04 |
|
Tropical Storm Noel: Natural
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
After forming just south of
…
NoelRain_TRM_2007303
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-10-30 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
NoelRain_TRM_2007303 |
|
Tropical Storm Olga: Natural
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Olga, the 15th named storm o
…
olga_TRM_2007347
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-12-13 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
olga_TRM_2007347 |
|
Rain from Tropical Storm Noe
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Though not the most powerful
…
NoelRain_TRM_2007305
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-11-01 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
NoelRain_TRM_2007305 |
|
Hurricane Jeanne: Image of t
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
After an eventful voyage thr
…
Jeanne_TRM_2004270
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-09-26 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image and caption courtesy Owen Kelley, Steve Lang, and Jeff Halverson, NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
| identifier |
Jeanne_TRM_2004270 |
|
Tropical Storm Ernesto: Imag
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
On Sunday August 27, 2006, E
…
ernesto_trmm_2006239
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-08-24 |
| creator |
NASA -- Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
| identifier |
ernesto_trmm_2006239 |
|
|
