video: The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite had a very good view of tropical storm Nadine in the central Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 13 at 1047 UTC ( 6:47 am EDT). A rainfall analysis using data from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments showed that rain was falling at a rate of over 75mm (~3 inches) per hour in convective storms just northeast of Nadine's center of circulation. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Hal Pierce of NASA's TRMM team created a 3-D view of Tropical Storm Nadine using data from TRMM's Precipitation Radar instrument. The 3-D view showed some towers near Nadine's center were reaching heights of 16km (~9.94 miles). Energy released by the latent heat of condensation with heavy rain in these convective towers can serve to invigorate a tropical cyclone. For complete NASA storm history and images go to: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2012/h2012-nadine.html view more
Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce