Near‐real‐time spatiotemporal analysis of convection and extreme rainfall leading to a flash flood using MSG‐SEVIRI and TRMM data: A case study of a flash flood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the November 25, 2009

Abstract

This paper describes a convective system, which brought heavy rainfall leading towards a flash flood on November 25, 2009, over Jeddah city and its surrounding regions. Meteosat Second Generation Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (MSG-SEVIRI) based near-real-time MSG-RGB (red, green, blue) composites and cloud top temperature images are used for the assessment of convection stages during the event. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data is used to quantify the rainfall amount and found reliable as compared with ground observations. Air mass RGB serves as an effective tool for the visual enhancement of cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds as well as differentiating them from other local features. Cloud top temperatures obtained from MSG IR10.8 channel show that the threshold values of cloud top below 220 K can lead to rainfall with the intensity of 10 mm/hr or above over Jeddah region. The results from MSG-SEVIRI and TRMM satellite data show that satellite data could serve as an effective tool for the near real-time monitoring of the rainfall event, when analysing convection stages. The study suggests that where ground measurements are minimal, satellite information can be used in as part of a flood warning system to minimise the aftermaths of a flood disaster.

Suitability of TRMM Products with Different Temporal Resolution (3-Hourly, Daily, and Monthly) for Rainfall Erosivity Estimation

“…Moreover, TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) combined the data from TRMM-PR, VIRS, TMI with passive microwave, infrared and visible measurements available from national and international satellites, and could provide rainfall data series with the temporal resolution of 3-hourly and spatial resolution of 0.25 • × 0.25 • at the coverage area of global 50 • S to 50 • N [28,29]. Numerous studies have validated that TRMM products have acceptable accuracy [28,29,[33][34][35][36][37][38], and good performance has been achieved using TRMM rainfall data in many research fields, including hydrological modeling [33,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45], rainfall characteristics [35,46,47], weather processes [48,49], latent heat flux [50][51][52], extreme precipitation [53,54], and drought/flood monitoring [55][56][57][58][59][60].…”

Flood Risk and Vulnerability from a Changing Climate Perspective: An Overview Focusing on Flash Floods and Associated Hazards in Jeddah

“…Flash floods are caused by a variety of variables, including natural ones like high monsoon rain, powerful convective rainstorms and inadequate drainage, as well as human, geomorphological and geological factors [51]. Recently, an increase in the frequency of flash floods has been witnessed in Saudi Arabia [52]. Extreme rainfall events lasting up to several hours (three hours each) have been witnessed in the Jeddah area in recent years, ending up in catastrophic flash flood events.…”

“…Figure 11. Major flash flood events in Jeddah-(a,b) (adapted from[52]) and (c,d) (adapted from[25]). …”

Antipyretic Medication for a Feverish Planet

“…Clear evidence exists that human-induced GMST increases have already caused an increase in the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events at many locations across the globe, as well as a substantial increase of drought and flood risks in many arid and semi-arid regions (Myhre et al 2019 ; Atif et al 2020 ; Tabari 2020 ; Yiwei et al 2020 ). Assessments of projected future climate changes show that any further warming will increase the probability for unprecedented extreme weather and climate events (Masson-Delmotte et al 2018 ; Myhre et al 2019 ).…”