TRMM


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See LARGE [ 2.7 mb] QUICKTIME ANIMATION December 28-January 5, 2004 Rain Accumulation See SMALLER [.5 mb] QUICKTIME ANIMATION See MEDIUM [ 1.2 mb] MPEG ANIMATION

FLOODING HAMPERS RELIEF EFFORTS IN SRI LANKA

The cleanup and relief efforts from the recent tsunamis continue in coastal communities that were ravaged by the waves all across the Indian Ocean. Heavy rains have further complicated the matter and added to the misery in parts of eastern Sri Lanka. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. Shown are MPA rainfall totals for the period 28 December 2004 to 5 January 2005. Upwards of 10 to 15 inches of rain may have fallen along the southeast coast of the island of Sri Lanka (yellow areas) over the period with 20-inch totals just offshore (red area). The heaviest rains fell on the 31st of December and on the 4th of January. The rains were likely the result of a combination of the northeast monsoon interacting with the topography and an active phase of what is known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation or MJO (or 30-60 day oscillation). The MJO is a large-scale disturbance that propagates eastward from the Indian Ocean into the West Pacific Ocean, bringing extended periods of unsettled weather with it. Individual convective complexes within the MJO can last on the order of a day.