Precipitation Accumulation and Anomalies
- Visualizations by:
- Jackson Boon Sze Tan
- Scientific consulting by:
- Dalia B Kirschbaum and
- George Huffman
- Produced by:
- Joy Ng and
- Ryan Fitzgibbons
- View full credits
The anomalies show the deviation from the normal seasonal cycle of precipitation. These maps help interpret the accumulation maps by isolating attention on the changes. Most notably here, the 2015-2016 El Niño is one of the strongest on record. The changes in the atmospheric circulation shift the rainfall that typically falls in the western Pacific—over Southeast Asia and northern Australia—to the central or eastern Pacific. As well, there are dry conditions across the Caribbean, tropical Atlantic, and northern South America. This display reduces the welter of "ordinary" precipitation and focuses attention on the systematic changes that are persistent, but not necessarily large enough to be readily noticed in the accumulations.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Visualizers
- Jackson Boon Sze Tan (USRA) [Lead]
- Alex Kekesi (GST)
Scientists
- Dalia B Kirschbaum (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- George Huffman (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
Producers
- Joy Ng (KBRwyle) [Lead]
- Ryan Fitzgibbons (KBRwyle) [Lead]
Related pages
NASA’s New View of the Daily Cycle of Rain
Oct. 17th, 2019
Read moreComplete transcript available.Music Credits: "Battle For Our Future" and "Wonderful Orbit" by Tom Furse Fairfax Cowan [PRS], "Transitions" by Ben Niblett [PRS] and Jon Cotton [PRS], "Emerging Discovery by "Rik Carter [PRS] from Killer Tracks The most detailed view of our daily weather has been created using NASA's newest extended precipitation record known as the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM, or IMERG analysis.The IMERG analysis combines almost 20 years of rain and snow data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the joint NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM).The daily cycle of weather, also known as the diurnal cycle, shapes how and when our weather develops and is fundamental to regulating our climate. For More InformationSee [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/precipitation-missions-release-two-decades-of-rain-snow-data](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/precipitation-missions-release-two-decades-of-rain-snow-data) Related pages
Precipitation Diurnal Cycles
Oct. 15th, 2019
Read moreContinental United StatesThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. Florida and SoutheastThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. The heat from the Sun builds up over the course of a day, culminating in afternoon thunderstorms over land. Near the coast, this is further accentuated by coastal breezes, feeding the rainfall systems over land with moisture from the sea. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. NortheastThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. The heat from the Sun builds up over the course of a day, culminating in afternoon thunderstorms over land. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. Midwest and Great PlainsThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. Over the Great Plains, thunderstorms flare up east of the Rocky Mountains in the late afternoon and roll eastwards over the night across the central U.S. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. West Coast (winter)This IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes throughout the day during the winter months of December, January and February. The average precipitation varies weakly over the course of a day, but the coastal regions generally receive similar amounts of precipitation at any hour, day or night. During the winter, precipitation systems in this region are driven less by the daily cycle of heating from the Sun and more by atmospheric rivers coming in from the Pacific Ocean. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. The daily cycle of weather, also known as the diurnal cycle, shapes how and when our weather develops and is fundamental to regulating our climate. These animations show the most detailed view of the diurnal cycles over the United States. They were created using NASA's newest extended precipitation record known as the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM, or IMERG analysis.The IMERG analysis combines almost 20 years of rain and snow data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the joint NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM).Learn more at NASA.gov. Related pages
How NASA Satellites Help Model the Future of Climate
Aug. 23rd, 2021
Read moreMusic: "Connections Established," "Data Visions," Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available. Continuing key observations of the Earth is really important to see how our atmosphere, land and oceans are changing over time. A long term record, combined with cutting edge observations from the new NASA Earth System Observatory, will continue to push boundaries to better understand our ever changing Earth. Related pages
NASA Remasters Nearly 20 Years of Global Rain
Oct. 15th, 2019
Read moreMusic: "Synchronicity," "The Ocean and the Moon," "Cloud Surfing," Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available. NASA has just released its newest and most comprehensive estimate of rain and snow covering nearly 20 years. Version 6 of NASA's IMERG -- the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) -- combines information from a constellation of satellties are operating in Earth orbit, at a given time, to estimate precipitation over the majority of the Earth's surface. This algorithm is particularly valuable over the majority of the Earth's surface that lacks precipitation-measuring instruments on the ground. What is new in Version 6 IMERG is that the algorithm can now fuse the early precipititation estimates collected in 2000-2014 during the operation of the TRMM satellite with more recent precipitation estimates collected during operation of the GPM satellite. The longer the record, the more valuable it is, as researchers and application developers will attest. TRMM and GPM are two satellites specially designed to provide the most reliable space-based estimates of preciptiation, and both satellites are joint missions between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). For More InformationSee [http://gpm.nasa.gov](http://gpm.nasa.gov) Related pages