During the hurricane season of 2004, an unprecedented four hurricanes hit Florida. This animation shows the accumulated rainfall produced by three of those hurricanes during the month of September. The animation also shows the rainfall from the typhoons in the Pacific Ocean during the same period.

Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area. NOTE: This animation is primarily designed to be used through the Web Mapping Services (WMS) protocol. Each frame in the animation actually represents an accumulation of a number of years of data up through a particular day of the year. Because of a limitation in the WMS protocol, each frame is marked only with a single date representing the last date for which the data was accumulated.

Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate density (number of flashes per square kilometer per year) based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area.

This sequence of images was used to create an animation of the progression of Hurricane Isabel as seen by MODIS.

The NASA finite-volume General Circulation Model (fvGCM) is used to produce a high-resolution weather prediction system. This model has an increased accuracy of predicting the strength and location of hurricanes over other prediction methods. Several variables are predicted, including cloud cover and precipitable water in the atmosphere. Data from Hurricane Isabel was used to validate the fvGCM model.

The NASA finite-volume General Circulation Model (fvGCM) is used to produce a high-resolution weather prediction system. This model has an increased accuracy of predicting the strength and location of hurricanes over other prediction methods. Several variables are predicted, including cloud cover and precipitable water in the atmosphere. Data from Hurricane Isabel was used to validate the fvGCM model.

Hurricane Charley was the first of four hurricanes to hit the United States in 2004.

Hurricane Fabian threatened the Eastern Coast of the United States before it turned northward and hit the island of Bermuda instead. Fabian came within 50 miles to the west of Bermuda on September 5th, 2003, with sustained winds of 117 miles per hour and with gusts of up to 130 miles per hour.

Hurricane Frances was the second hurricane to hit Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. This set of images shows the progression of the hurricane as it approached Florida from the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Ivan was the third hurricane to hit Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. This set of images shows the progression of the hurricane as it approached the Gulf Coast across the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Jeanne was the fourth hurricane to hit Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. This set of images shows the progression of the hurricane as it approached Florida from the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. When it hit the Florida coast on September 26, Jeanne was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds near 115 miles per hour.

Hurricane Isabel generated large amounts of rain over the Atlantic ocean as it approached East coast of the United States in September 2003. In fact, unlike many hurricanes, most of the Isabels rainfall did not occur over land; flooding on land was caused mainly by storm surge. This animation shows accumulation of rainfall from the hurricane--each frame shows the total amount of rain since the start of the measurement period. Rain from other sources has been masked out, so the hurricane track is clearly visible as the storm moves across the Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Allison began just five days into the 2001 hurricane season. Allison formed in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and dumped an enormous amount of rain on Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and other states in the southeastern United States.

Satellite data can gauge the health of plants, which is a good indicator of drought. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) measures how dense and green plant leaves are. NDVI images are useful as a measure of drought when compared to "normal" plant health. Scientists calculate average NDVI values for an area to find out what is normal at a particular time of year. This animation uses satellite imagery to show changes in vegetation between 1999 and 2003. In 2002, drought had settled across the Midwest. Large dark brown sections of eastern Colorado show where vegetation was less lush and healthy than normal. This version of the visualization is a wide view showing the western United States. The data were measured by the vegetation instrument on Europe's SPOT-4 satellite, and were provided by DigitalGlobe-SPOT under agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS).