NASA TRMM Satellite captures Tropical Storm Phanfone fragments

On Sept. 30, the TRMM satellite passed over Tropical Storm Phanfone and saw fragmented bands of thunderstorms with some isolated areas of heavy rain (red) falling at 2 inches per hour. 

Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce

The bands of thunderstorms wrapping around Tropical Storm Phanfone in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean appeared fragmented to NASA's TRMM satellite.

On Sept. 30, a typhoon watch remains in effect for the far northern Marianas Islands including Pagan and, extinct volcano, Alamagan.

Tropical storm warnings have been cancelled for Tinian and Saipan, but remain in effect for Pagan, Alamagan and surrounding waters.

A flash flood watch remains in effect for the island of Saipan. For updated forecasts for these islands, visit the U.S. National Weather Service Office's Guam website.

On Sept. 30 at 01:51 UTC (Sept. 29 at 9:51 p.m. EDT) from its orbit in space, NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Tropical Storm Phanfone.

Most of the rainfall in the fragmented bands of thunderstorms was light to moderate, falling at a rate between 10 and 20 mm (0.39 to 0.79 inch) per hour.

However, TRMM saw some isolated areas of heavy rain falling at 50 mm (2 inches) per hour.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that animated multi-spectral satellite imagery on Sept. 30 revealed that the tropical storm had slightly unraveled as the bands of thunderstorms had become even more fragmented than they were on Sept. 29.

On Sept. 30 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) Phanfone's maximum sustained winds were near 45 knots (83.3 mph/51.7 kph).

It was centered near 17.1 north latitude and 145.0 east longitude, about 103 nautical miles north of Saipan. Phanfone was moving to the west-northwest at 15 knots (17.2 mph/17.7 kph).

Phanfone is forecast to intensify as it moves in a generally northwesterly direction through warm sea surface temperatures, toward the island of Iwo To.

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Phanfone to reach typhoon strength on Oct. 1 and maintain it as it passes west of the island of Iwo To on Oct. 3, later moving toward Japan.

NASA JAXA TRMM satellite measures Hurricane Odile's heavy rainfall

This TRMM rainfall analysis from Sept. 9-19, 2014 shows heaviest rainfall, up to 33 inches appear in purple in the ocean off southwestern Mexico where Odile and other tropical cyclones formed. 

Rainfall totals above 12.5 inches near Baja California peninsula and over 6.3 in northwestern Texas. 

Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce

During the week of Sept. 15, Hurricane Odile and its weakened remnants produced heavy rainfall that caused dangerous flooding over Mexico's Baja California peninsula and southwestern United States.

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite gathers data on rainfall that was used to create a map that showed estimated totals that in one case neared almost three feet!

Some of Odile's may have been welcomed in the U.S. Southwest where some areas have been experiencing extreme to exceptional drought conditions, but some was extreme and led to flooding.

TRMM was launched in November 1997 with the primary mission of measuring rainfall in the Tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors.

TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

A rainfall analysis was created using real-time TRMM Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) data produced at the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Those data are used to monitor rainfall over the global Tropics.

TMPA rainfall totals from September 9 through 19, 2014 were gathered during the period when Hurricane Odile formed over the eastern Pacific Ocean southwest of Mexico, hit Baja California and when the dissipating tropical cyclone was spreading rainfall over the southwestern United States.

The heaviest rainfall during this period was found in the ocean off southwestern Mexico where Odile and other tropical cyclones have recently formed.

In that area, rainfall totals reached up to 840 mm (33 inches) , almost three feet!

Rainfall along Mexico's Baja California Peninsula were over a foot. TRMM data showed rainfall totals above 320 mm (12.5 inches) there.

The TRMM analysis showed that in southwestern United States Odile's remnants produced the highest rainfall totals of over 160 mm (6.3 inches) in northwestern Texas.

NASA TRMM Satellite: Heavy Storms in the eye of Hurricane Iselle - video

NASA's TRMM Satellite found storms in Iselle's eye wall reaching from 13km (8 miles) high and very heavy rain falling at a rate of almost 182 mm (about 7.2 inches) per hour in Iselle's eye wall. Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce


NASA's TRMM Satellite found storms in Iselle's eye wall reaching from 13km (8 miles) high and very heavy rain falling at a rate of almost 182 mm (about 7.2 inches) per hour in Iselle's eye wall. 

Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM) flew directly over the eye of powerful Hurricane Iselle and found extremely heavy rainfall rates occurring there.

On August 4, 2014 at 1037 UTC (6:37 a.m. EDT) when TRMM passed over the storm, Iselle had winds of about 120 knots (about 138 mph) at that time making it a dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Rainfall from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments was overlaid on an enhanced infrared image from NOAA's GOES-West satellite that showed cloud extent.

The composite image showed the diameter of the storm and the rate in which rain was falling within it.

The TRMM PR saw rain falling at a rate of almost 182 mm (about 7.2 inches) per hour in Iselle's eye wall.

TRMM data was also used to create a 3-D image of the storm to help forecasters see cloud heights.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a 3-D image was produced using radar reflectivity values from TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument. 

The 3-D image showed storms in Iselle's eye wall reaching from 13km (8 miles) to the surface of the ocean below.

NASA's TRMM satellite analyzes Mexico's soaking tropical rains

Rainfall totals were calculated using NASA's TRMM satellite data for the period May 29 to June 6, 2014 that included Tropical Storm Boris and System 90L. 

Over 535 mm (21.6 inches) where tropical storm Boris came ashore in southern Mexico. 

Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

The movement of tropical storm Boris into southern Mexico and a nearly stationary low pressure system in the southern Gulf of Mexico caused heavy rainfall in that area.

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite acts like a "rain gauge in space" and calculated that one area received almost 2 feet of rainfall.

The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland monitors rainfall over the global tropics using data from the TRMM satellite.

TMPA rainfall totals were calculated for the period May 29 to June 6, 2014 that covered the time that Tropical Storm Boris made landfall in southwestern Mexico and System 90L soaked eastern Mexico.

TRMM data showed the highest rainfall totals of over 535 mm where tropical storm Boris came ashore in southern Mexico. System 90L, located in the Bay Of Campeche for most of that time brought more heavy rain in southeastern Mexico before it dissipated on June 7.

On June 7, there was good and bad news about System 90L. The good news was that it moved further inland and was dissipating so it no longer had a chance to develop into a tropical cyclone.

The bad news was that it moved further inland and continued to produce gusty winds and heavy rains along with life-threatening flash flooding over eastern and southeastern Mexico.



TRMM satellite data showed that some areas in southwestern Mexico received over 12 inches of rainfall (red) from Boris, while System 90L on the eastern side of Mexico brought similar totals to parts of the Yucatan. 

Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the NASA/NOAA GOES Project created an animation of satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite imagery.

The movie shows the movement of System 90L over land and dissipating between June 6 and June 7 at 2000 UTC (4 p.m. EDT).

The Mexican Weather Service reported the city of Veracruz recorded 7.1 inches (180 mm) of rain! Huixtepec in Oaxaca reported 2.9 inches (73.4 mm) of rain.

On June 7, the National Hurricane Center noted that the low was centered near 18.0 north and 96.5 west. By June 9, System 90L had dissipated.