Envirocast® On-Line Feature of the Week -- November 17, 2006

Severe Storms Hit the US Southeast

The images in this Envirocast® On-Line were taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM). They show the severe storms that hit the US Southeast on November 16, 2006.

Severe Storms Hit the US Southeast

The horizontal distribution of rain intensity shown in the image above was derived from TRMM satellite data taken on November 16, 2006 at 1419UTC (9:14 am EST). Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM PR, while those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). Areas of intense rainfall (darker reds) were associated with bands of severe thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes moving through North Carolina.

 

Flood Potential Map (1 Day of Rainfall Accumulation)

Potential flood areas derived from TRMM rainfall accumulation observations. The red shows areas with 1 day total rainfall over 1.4 inches from 1:00am EST November 16 to 1:00 am EST November 17. The orange means total rainfall over 3 inches a day, and yellow means over 5 inches a day.

 

Environmental Impacts:

  • According to local authorities, at least eight people were killed and nearly 20 injured Thursday November 16 when a tornado ripped through a mobile home park in Riegelwood, a small town west of Wilmington, North Carolina.

  • The storms began Wednesday, unleashing tornadoes and winds that overturned mobile homes and tractor-trailers, uprooted trees and knocked down power lines across the South. The tornado was part of this devastating line of thunderstorms that swept across the South, raising the two-day death toll to 12. The storms then headed north, causing some flooding and wind damage in the Mid-Atlantic.

  • The storm knocked out power to 45,000 customers in North Carolina, but the electricity was back on in most places by mid-afternoon Thursday.

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Supplementary Material:

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM):

  • TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA.

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