NASA Examines Deadly Spring-Like Weather With GPM Satellite

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Rainfall from spring-like downpours in the U.S. from February 25 to March 1 were analyzed at NASA using data from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite.

Record breaking warm temperatures this winter have caused plants to bloom early in the eastern United States. Unfortunately this has also resulted in the formation of spring-like severe thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes. Multiple tornado sightings were made in three of the last seven days. On Saturday February 25, 2017 destructive tornadoes were reported in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Rainfall from spring-like downpours in the U.S. from February 25 to March 1 were analyzed at NASA using data from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite.

Record breaking warm temperatures this winter have caused plants to bloom early in the eastern United States. Unfortunately this has also resulted in the formation of spring-like severe thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes. Multiple tornado sightings were made in three of the last seven days. On Saturday February 25, 2017 destructive tornadoes were reported in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

On February 28, twisters were reported in the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan. Three people were killed in Illinois and four others were injured in Arkansas with this tornado outbreak. Severe weather on March 1, 2017 also included reports of tornado sightings in Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia. 

Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM or IMERG data were used to show the rainfall that occurred during the past week. The analysis was done at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Intense downpours from storms over this period resulted in flash floods in several states. 

Read more at NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center

Image: This GPM rainfall image combined with infrared cloud data from NOAA's GOES-West satellite shows the line of storms that stretched from Pennsylvania to Alabama on March 1, 2017. Red areas indicate rainfall up to 50 mm per hour. (Credits: NASA / JAXA, Hal Pierce)