Tropical Cyclone Narelle Approaches Queensland, Australia

As Tropical Cyclone Narelle approached the Queensland coast of Australia on March 19, 2026, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard NOAA-21 (a joint NASA/NOAA platform) acquired this true-color corrected reflectance image. Narelle was expected to make landfall on the morning of March 20 as a category 5 storm, with winds gusts predicted to reach 195 miles (315 kilometers) per hour.

The second image shows the precipitation rate in millimeters per hour (by 30-minute intervals) based on the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) Precipitation Rate dataset. Click on the forward and backward arrow in the lower left corner to see the storm and its rain bands moving as time progresses (Note: The most current precipitation rate shown is roughly 5 hours prior to the current time). The highest precipitation rates are shown in shades of red to dark red. 

The IMERG algorithm uses passive-microwave observations from the GPM constellation of satellites, infrared observations from geosynchronous satellites, and calibration data derived from ground-based rain gauges. 

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