TRMM Composite Images of Isabel

As Hurricane Isabel intensified and weakened on its way to the East Coast, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observed Isabel many times. The TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) is the only instrument in space that can provide detailed three-dimensional rainfall measurements. Along the bottom of the figure, you can see the surface precipitation rate for six Precipitation Radar overflights of Hurricane Isabel. As the hurricane weakened, its eye increased in size and had decreasing precipitation. In the middle of the figure, you can see overflights of the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), which has the advantage of a much wider field-of-view. Satellite data such as the TRMM data shown here help forecasters to predict in near-realtime the path and intensity of hurricanes.