Phenomena: Flooding, Storm, Dust
Satellite: NOAA-20
Product: TrueColor
Instrument: Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
Date: October 30, 2024

On Wednesday, October 30, 2024, the NOAA-20 satellite captured a striking image of a powerful storm over Spain that brought record rainfall to the country. The satellite also captured the Saharan dust being swept up from Africa and wrapped into the swirling system. 

Eastern and southeastern Spain have been deluged with torrential rainfall that has led to catastrophic damage throughout the region. Meteorologists reported that some areas received an entire year’s worth of rain within just eight hours, resulting in severe flooding that swept away bridges and buildings, and disrupted highways. This extreme weather prompted Spain’s meteorological agency to issue an emergency alert for the coastal region of Valencia, after the city saw its heaviest rainfall in 24 years.

This image was captured by the NOAA-20 satellite's VIIRS instrument, which scans the entire Earth twice per day at a 750-meter resolution. Multiple visible and infrared channels allow it to detect atmospheric aerosols, such as dust, smoke and haze associated with industrial pollution and fires. The polar-orbiting satellite circles the globe 14 times daily and captures a complete daytime view of our planet once every 24 hours. Images taken by the VIIRS sensor during each orbit are then merged together to create image mosaics of larger regions, like the one used here.

NOAA-20, along with NOAA-21, and the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP make up NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System, the Nation’s advanced series of polar-orbiting environmental satellites. JPSS represents significant technological and scientific advancements in observations used for severe weather prediction and environmental monitoring. These data are critical to the timeliness and accuracy of forecasts three to seven days in advance of a severe weather event. JPSS is a collaborative effort between NOAA and NASA.