Weather satellites, like those in NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R ( GOES-R) series, keep an eye on atmospheric events that can lead to flooding.įor example, the GOES-R series satellites are equipped with an instrument called the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which can detect and monitor the formation of atmospheric rivers.
Credit: NOAA How do satellites help during floods? GOES-West imagery of an atmospheric river moving over California in February 2019. They can also send a rush of water from the ocean onto coastlines in an event called a storm surge, which floods low-lying areas. Tropical cyclones can produce huge amounts of rain, causing flooding and flash flooding once the storm reaches land. When they appear in the Atlantic Ocean or the northwest part of the Pacific Ocean and reach a certain intensity, they are called hurricanes. Tropical cyclones form in some tropical and subtropical areas, usually in the summer and fall. Several different weather conditions can cause extreme rainfall in a region. Flash floods can cause water to rise significantly in a short amount of time. When there is more rain than the soil can absorb, the excess water quickly runs into rivers and creeks, overwhelming storm drains and ditches and causing a flash flood. What is a flash flood?įlash floods are very dangerous floods that can happen with little or no warning. In fact, if a thunderstorm lingers over a mountain, a creek only 6 inches deep can swell to a 10-foot-deep river in less than an hour. Rain or snowmelt running down a mountain can cause streams and rivers to rise quickly. Mountains or steep hills can increase an area’s flood risk, too. Paved surfaces can't absorb rain, so urban areas are at risk for flooding. Flooding in the streets of downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
0 kommentar(er)
