Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)–January 22, 2016 – 2:24 PM EST. The winter storm that caused damage during the night along the Gulf Coast has deepened and has started to spread heavy rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow northward into the Mid-Atlantic region. NASA’s GPM and NOAA’s GOES satellites are providing data on rainfall, cloud heights, extent and movement of the storm.
On January 22 at 1329 UTC (8:29 a.m. EST) the GPM core satellite saw saw precipitation falling at a rate of over 64 mm (2.5 inches) per hour in storms over northern Alabama. Credits: SSAI/NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce
The National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland said “An area of low pressure centered over the southeastern U.S. will continue developing into a major winter storm which will impact a large portion of the East Coast from the southern Appalachians through the Mid-Atlantic States from Friday into the weekend. Snowfall totals may exceed 2 feet in portions of these areas, including the Baltimore and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas.”
The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission core satellite gathered precipitation data on the increasingly dangerous storm on January 22, 2016 at 1329 UTC (8:29 a.m. EST). A precipitation analysis was created using data collected by GPM’s Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments. GPM’s DPR saw precipitation falling at a rate of over 64 mm (2.5 inches) per hour in storms over northern Alabama.
On January 22 at 1329 UTC (8:29 a.m. EST) the GPM core satellite saw saw precipitation falling at a rate of over 64 mm (2.5 inches) per hour in storms over northern Alabama. Credits: SSAI/NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce
This animation NOAA’s GOES-East satellite imagery from Jan. 20 to 22 shows the movement of the system that is expected to bring a powerful winter storm to the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
NWS said “A strong low over the Atlantic waters will become a dominant force in setting up very gusty winds in the Mid-Atlantic to Long Island, with storm surge flooding possible.”
The impacts from the storm stretch from the Ozark Mountains to the Mid-Atlantic. On Jan. 22, the NWS said heavy snowfall and increasingly strong winds through Saturday are predicted to cause dangerous blizzard conditions in Washington, D.C. where blizzard warnings were in effect. To the south, a quarter to half inch of ice accumulations across parts of the interior Carolinas outside the mountains – with lighter amounts expected in Kentucky and over the much of the central/eastern Carolinas. Severe weather is also possible across eastern Gulf coasts and Florida.
This visible image from NOAA’s GOES-East satellite at 1830 UTC (1:30 p.m. EST) shows the major winter storm now affecting the U.S. East coast. Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
For updated forecasts, visit NOAA’s NWS website: www.weather.gov
Source: http://www.nasa.gov