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On March 17, 2014, the GPM, or Global Precipitation

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Measurement mission's Core Observatory, flew over a

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rare late-season East Coast snow storm. This was also one of the

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first major snow storms observed by GPM shortly after 

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it was launched on February 27, 2014. Shades of

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green to red are liquid precipitation. Cyan to purple are frozen

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precipitation. GPM is the first NASA satellite designed to 

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measure the full range of light rain, heavy rain, and falling snow.

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Off the coasts of the Carolinas, the tops of the clouds are icy,

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reaching about 10 kilometers up into the atmosphere. Down at the surface

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heavy rains fall in the Atlantic Ocean. Farther north

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over West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, the post-frontal part

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of the storm has much lower cloud tops, and they are 

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composed of snow, which falls at the surface. GPM's broader

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spectrum of precipitation data gives scientists a better estimate of

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water content and a new perspective on winter storms,

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particularly in the middle and high latitudes.

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In addition to its own data gathering, the GPM Core Observatory

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is the reference standard for the GPM Constellation, a network

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of international partner satellites that detect falling rain and

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snow all over the globe every few hours. Here

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the partner satellites crisscross the globe and observe the March 17

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snow storm.

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[rain falling]

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[rain falling]

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