Quick Photo Insights
Two vast cloud bands recently stretched from the eastern Indian Ocean to Australia, delivering intense rains. These moisture-transporting atmospheric rivers are common but rarely occur simultaneously.
One system brought over 150 millimeters (6 inches) of rain in less than 24 hours to Western Australia's Nullarbor Coast.
The second system dropped heavy rain on New South Wales.
The VIIRS on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of these cloud bands on August 10, 2020.
In Australia, these atmospheric rivers are called Northwest Cloud Bands, similar to the Pineapple Express in the United States.
A University of Melbourne study indicates the frequency of atmospheric rivers may be increasing with global climate change, showing nearly one additional Northwest Cloud Band day per year over 30 years (1984-2014)
Curated resources
>> Double Cloud Trouble (nasa.gov)
>> Collections (nasa.gov)