Earth  ID: 12185

Instagram: Why Do Raindrop Sizes Matter In Storms?

Released on March 31, 2016
Not all raindrops are created equal. The size of falling raindrops depends on several factors, including where the cloud producing the drops is located on the globe and where the drops originate in the cloud. For the first time, scientists have three-dimensional snapshots of raindrops and snowflakes around the world from space, thanks to the joint NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. With the new global data on raindrop and snowflake sizes this mission provides, scientists can improve rainfall estimates from satellite data and in numerical weather forecast models, helping us better understand and prepare for extreme weather events.
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For More Information

NASA.gov Article

http://pmm.nasa.gov

Credits

Scientists:
Gail Skofronick Jackson (NASA/GSFC)
George Huffman (NASA/GSFC)
Dalia B Kirschbaum (NASA/GSFC)
Chris Kidd (University of Maryland)

Interviewee:
Stephen J. Munchak (University of Maryland)

Animators:
Michael Lentz (USRA)
Krystofer Kim (USRA)
Joy Ng (USRA)

Lead Producer:
Joy Ng (USRA)

Producer:
Ryan Fitzgibbons (USRA)

Support:
Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC)

Writer:
Kasha Patel (Wyle Information Systems)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Music credit: Dusk On The Plains by B. Boston

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12185

Missions:
Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission - TRMM

This item is part of this series:
Narrated Movies

Keywords:
SVS >> GPM
SVS >> Rain Structure
SVS >> Rainfall
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Precipitation
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Precipitation >> Rain
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Precipitation >> Snow
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0