NASA gathered rainfall data on
Tropical Cyclone Vardah from its birth in the Bay of Bengal through
its movement west into the Arabian Sea.
Rainfall totals were estimated over Vardah's lifetime and path, and
NASA found heavy rainfall from the remnants on Dec. 14.
Although Vardah's circulation dissipated the remnants were still
producing rainfall in a few stormy areas when the Global Precipitation
Measurement mission or GPM core observatory satellite flew over the
Arabian Sea on Dec. 13 at 9:31 p.m. EST (Dec. 14 at 0231 UTC).
As GPM flew over the remnants, the satellite's Dual-Frequency
Precipitation Radar (DPR) data showed that rainfall was still quite
heavy.
Rainfall was occurring at a rate of over 101 mm (4 inches) per hour in
storms that were moving into the Arabian Sea.
GPM's radar (DPR Ku Band) measured storm top heights in a few of these
storms that were reaching altitudes above 14 km (8.7 miles). GPM is a
joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.
To calculate the rainfall dropped along Vardah's lifetime path, data
from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) were
used.
Rainfall totals were estimated from Dec.7 through 14, 2016 which was
the period from Vardah's formation in the eastern Bay of Bengal until
the tropical cyclone dissipated over southern India.
IMERG showed that Vardah produced heavy rainfall over a large area of
the central Bay of Bengal.
The highest IMERG rainfall total estimates of about 500 mm (19.7
inches) were analyzed in the area west of the Andaman Islands where
Vardah formed and initially moved very slowly.
IMERG total rainfall estimates of over 300 mm (11.8 inches) were shown
in many areas along Vardah's track.
The highest IMERG rainfall total estimates over land were found from
where Vardah made landfall on India's southeastern coast through
dissipation in the western part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Flooding rainfall totals of over 224mm (8.8 inches) were reported in
Chennai where Vardah came ashore.
India's RSMC or Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in New
Delhi said on Dec. 15 that the low pressure area and associated
scattered low/medium clouds with embedded moderate to intense
convection (developing thunderstorms) lies over the Kerala - Karnataka
coast and adjoining some parts of southeast Arabian Sea.
Vardah's remnants have a zero percent chance of redeveloping.
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