TRMM NORTHEAST US HEAVY RAINFALL

Link to image of rainfall accumulation over NORTHEAST US

See LARGE [5.4 mb] QUICKTIME ANIMATION Rainfall accumulation June 23-28, 2006 See SMALLER [.8 mb] QUICKTIME ANIMATION of accumulation See MEDIUM [1.1 mb] MPEG ANIMATION of accumulation

TROPICAL DOWNPOURS BRING FLOODING TO THE MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST

Over the past several days, heavy downpours have pounded the Mid-Atlantic region including the nation's capital. At one point, the capital beltway was closed due to a mudslide. Other roads in the region have been closed as well and some low-lying areas had to be evacuated as a result of widespread flash flooding. A stalled-out stationary front provided the focus for the abundant showers and thunderstorms as a steady stream of very moist tropical air was channeled up the East Coast from the south ahead of a trough of low pressure over the eastern half of the country and the Bermuda high in the western Atlantic. So far, ten persons have died in the Northeast as a result of the rainy weather and three are missing.

Back in November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite, also known as TRMM, was launched into a low-earth orbit. Its primary mission is to measure rainfall over the global Tropics. TRMM uses a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. It can be used to calibrate rainfall estimates from other satellites. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global Tropics. MPA rainfall totals are shown here for the period 23 to 28 June 2006 for the Mid-Atlantic region. The heaviest rainfall totals for the period (shown in red) are on the order of 7 to 10 inches over Maryland's eastern shore (east of the Chesapeake Bay), central Delaware and central Maryland west of the Baltimore-Washington I-95 corridor. Locally, over 12 inches of rain were reported in Federalsburg, MD, which falls within the red area east of the Chesapeake Bay. Washington National reported over 13 inches of rain. Nearly the entire area received 3 inches of rain (green areas) or more.