The GPM Core observatory satellite's passed over Oklahoma on Monday, June 25, 2018 04:08 AM CDT (0508 UTC). The satellite makes measurements of precipitation with it's GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments every 95 minutes as it orbits the earth at 252.3 miles (407 km). The area covered by GPM's radar is shown in lighter shades.
A stagnant upper-air pattern that spread numerous storms and heavy rains from central Texas up into Oklahoma has resulted in record flooding for parts of the Lone Star State. One of the hardest hit areas was in Hays County Texas south of Austin where the Blanco River rose rapidly and set a new record crest at over 40 feet, 13 feet above flood stage, following a night of very heavy rain in the area, with over 12 inches reported locally in a short period of time, in an area already wet from previous storms.
This excerpt from the NASA Earth Observer publication provides and in-depth summary of the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), which took place from April 22nd - June 6th 2011 in central Oklahoma. The overarching goals of the field effort were to provide a complete three-dimensional characterization of precipitation microphysics in the context of improving the reliability of GPM precipitation retrievals over land, and to advance understanding of the primary physical components that form the basis for models that simulate convection and clouds.
Note the tube-like condensation funnel, attached to the rotating cloud base, surrounded by a translucent dust cloud.
Source: NOAA, Wikimedia Commons
