This dramatic image captures the narrow swath of heavy rain deposited by Tropical Cyclone Ami in the southwestern Pacific. The image was created using data from the NASA/NASDA Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and other rainfall measuring satellites. Tropical Cyclone Ami passed through the Fiji Island chain and caused extensive damage from flooding rains, high winds and storm surge. This seven day accumulation shows that nearly 20 inches of rain fell along portions of the storm track (dark red areas). The cyclone was the worst storm to strike Fiji since 1987.
The animations below show a seven-day rain accumulation beginning January 7 and ending January 14, 2003.
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This TRMM image and those of other extreme events can be found at the TRMM website trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov.