June 22, 2017 On June 22 at 2:21 a.m. EDT (0621 UTC) GPM very little rainfall near Cindy's center of circulation but bands of moderate to heavy showers were seen moving into the states along the Gulf Coast. Storms over central Alabama were dropping rain at a rate of over 3.6 inches (91 mm) per hour. Credit: NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce

NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Tropical Storm Cindy in infrared light to identify areas of strongest storms and the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite found locations of heaviest rainfall as Cindy was making landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast states.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite looked at Tropical Depression Cindy in infrared light. The AIRS image was taken on June 21 at 19:53 UTC (3:53 p.m. EST) and showed some cloud top temperatures of thunderstorms near the center of circulation as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius). NASA research has shown the storms with cloud tops that cold have the potential to generate heavy rainfall.

The infrared data was false-colored at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where AIRS data is managed.

Cindy made landfall around 3 a.m. CDT in southwestern Louisiana. At that time, the National Hurricane Center or NHC said that Cindy was centered about 30 miles (45 km) west-southwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Measuring Rainfall Rates from Space

The GPM core observatory satellite passed above as Tropical Storm Cindy was approaching the western Louisiana coast on June 22, 2017 at 2:21 a.m. EDT (0621 UTC). Cindy had maximum sustained winds of about 40 knots (46 mph) at that time. Rainfall derived from Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) measurements showed that there was very little rainfall near Cindy's center of circulation but bands of moderate to heavy showers were seen moving into the states along the Gulf Coast. GPM's Radar (DPR Ku Band) found that storms over central Alabama were dropping rain at a rate of over 3.6 inches (91 mm) per hour.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, GPM radar (DPR Ku Band) data were used to show the 3-D structure of rainfall within Cindy's storm tops. GPM's radar revealed that a few storms within rain bands near New Orleans were reaching heights of over 7.2 miles (11.6 km). GPM's radar found that the heaviest downpours over Alabama were returning radar reflectivity values of over 51dBZ to the GPM satellite.

Cindy's Whereabouts on June 22

On June 22, NHC issued a Tropical Storm Warning from High Island, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana.

At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Cindy was located near latitude 30.5 North, longitude 93.7 West. Cindy is moving toward the north near 12 mph (19 km/h), and a turn toward the north-northeast is expected later today, followed by a turn toward the northeast on Friday, June 23. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 994 millibars.

Rainfall is the Biggest Danger

The National Hurricane Center noted that rainfall is the biggest threat from Cindy as it continues to move inland. NHC said, "Cindy is expected to produce rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with isolated maximum amounts up to 12 inches over eastern Texas, western and central Louisiana, and southern and eastern Arkansas through Friday morning. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 8 inches over southern Mississippi, southern and central Alabama, and extreme western Florida Panhandle are expected through Friday morning. This rainfall could cause life-threatening flash flooding in these areas.

Rainfall is expected to begin and expand across parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 4 inches are expected through Friday morning."

In addition to heavy rainfall, tropical storm force winds, storm surge and a few tornadoes are possible. The tornado threat extends through tonight, June 22, from the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valley regions to the central Gulf Coast.

On the forecast track, Cindy will move into southeastern Arkansas early Friday, and into Tennessee later on Friday. NHC said Cindy is expected to continue weakening and should become a remnant low tonight.

Explore further: NASA sees Tropical Storm Cindy soaking the Gulf Coast

NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Cindy after it formed and was already affecting the U.S. Gulf Coast states. Cindy continues to crawl toward land and Tropical Storm warnings are in effect for June ...

NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over a developing low pressure area in the Gulf of Mexico and gathered two days of rainfall and storm height information. The disturbance could ...

Tropical Storm Merbok formed in the South China Sea west of the Philippines on June 11 and made landfall east of Hong Kong, China on June 12. NASA measured the rainfall rates within the tropical storm early in its short two ...

NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Tropical Depression 2E in infrared, visible and microwave light as it began its landfall on June 1, bringing heavy rains to southern Mexico.

Satellite data showed heavy rain and high cloud tops in Tropical Cyclone Mora after the storm came ashore in Bangladesh.

Heavy rainfall is a big part of Tropical Depression 9, which is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission, or GPM, core satellite passed over the gulf in space and measured that rate ...

New research has revealed the causes of the UK's record rainfall and subsequent flooding during the 2013-14 winter.

Every year, severe weather endangers millions of people and causes billions of dollars in damage worldwide. But new research from Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and AccuWeather has found ...

Dating back to the first century, scientists, philosophers and reporters have noted the occasional occurrence of "bright nights," when an unexplained glow in the night sky lets observers see distant mountains, read a newspaper ...

(Phys.org)A pair of researchers with the Natural History Museum of London and the University of Waikato have found that bacteria living in a part of Antarctica have not changed much over the past century. In their paper ...

A spectacular six-month Icelandic lava field eruption could provide the crucial key for scientists to unlock the role aerosols play in climate change, through their interactions with clouds.

In the popular children's story "Horton Hears a Who!" author Dr. Seuss tells of a gentle and protective elephant who stumbles upon a speck of dust that harbors a community of microscopic creatures called the Whos living the ...

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Continued here:

NASA's infrared and radar eyes in space cast on Tropical Storm Cindy - Phys.Org