image: NASA's TRMM satellite data from Aug. 18-25 showed heavy rainfall over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico that exceeded 275 mm (10.9 inches) and higher totals to 350 mm (13.8 in) near Turks and Caicos Islands. view more
Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce
The Caribbean Islands of Turks and Caicos were drenched from Tropical Storm Cristobal before the storm moved north and intensified into a hurricane. NASA's TRMM satellite added up the rainfall and revealed the soaking those islands received.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite is like a flying rain gauge in space. It can estimate rainfall throughout storms on Earth from its orbit around the planet. TRMM is managed by both NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency known as JAXA and has been in orbit since 1997 covering the tropics.
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland the data from TRMM was to create a TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation data (TMPA) Analysis. That analysis basically added up the rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Cristobal during the period from August 18-25, 2014. The TMPA showed flooding rainfall over the islands of the Caribbean and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The TMPA showed heavy rainfall over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico that exceeded 275 mm (10.9 inches). The greatest rainfall totals during that period was found along Cristobal's track near the Turks and Caicos Islands where rainfall was over 350mm (13.8 inches).
After drenching the eastern Caribbean, Cristobal moved north and intensified into a hurricane where it passed to the west of Bermuda.