Tropical Depression Mekkhala strengthened and organized on Jan. 14 and overnight into Jan. 15 when it reached tropical storm status. As the storm was consolidating, NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission core satellite captured rainfall data of the storm.

The GPM core satellite flew above Mekkhala on January 14, 2015 at 1043 UTC (5:43 a.m. EST). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument observed rain falling at a rate of over 71.63 mm (about 2.8 inches) per hour in intense convective storms near the tropical cyclone's center.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland a 3-D view was created using data collected by GPM's Radar (Ku Band). The data showed that thunderstorm tops in rain bands east of Mekkhala's center reached heights of over 13 km (8 miles).

On January 15 at 0900 UTC (4 a.m. EST), Mekkhala's maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (40 mph/62 kph). The center of the storm was located near 11.6 north latitude and 132.2 east longitude, about 277 nautical miles (318.8 miles/513 kph) north-northwest of Koror, Palau. Mekkhala was moving to the west at 8 knots (9.2 mph/14.8 kph). Satellite data showed that the bulk of convection and thunderstorms were over the western quadrant of the storm on January 15, indicating moderate vertical wind shear.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast calls for Mekkhala to slowly intensify over the next day and a half reaching a peak intensity of 50 knots (57.5 mph/92.6 kph) prior to making landfall. Mekkhala is expected to approach the central of Visayas region of the Philippines on January 17.

After landfall, interaction with the land, increased friction from moving over land and more stable air are expected to weaken the storm as it moves through the central and northern Philippines in a northwesterly direction, passing Manila in Luzon on January 19 and emerging into the South China Sea.

Fierce Storm Rachel has left 1,950 homes without power and sparked travel chaos across the UK after a deluge of snow and torrential rain.

Gale force winds of up to 101mph blasted through Britain today as the churning low-pressure vortex - dubbed Storm Rachel - sparked commuter chaos.

But as the storm caused damage, delays, disruption and power failures, forecasters have warned the worst could still be to come.

Some 149 flood alerts and 32 flood warnings have been issued across Britain this morning, the Environment Agency confirmed.

The Met Office has also cautioned a "be aware" weather warning remains in place across the whole of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and central and southern Scotland for rain and high winds.

The highest recorded windspeed in the UK today is 101mph - reported in Great Dunsell, Cumbria while other exposed and coastal areas documented speeds of 70mph.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "After something of a lull, a further spell of very strong winds, this time from the west, is expected from late Thursday morning onwards into the evening, again with gusts of 70mph or more in places.

Boeing 777 reported at speeds of up to 745mph as it flies from New York to Heathrow in just 5 hours 16 minutes

Concorde may have been retired but a British Airways passenger jet approached supersonic speed this week as it rode a surging jet stream from New York to London.

The Boeing 777-200 jet reached a ground speed of 745mph as it rode winds of more than 200mph across the Atlantic. At ground level, the speed of sound is 761mph.

The happy result was a flight time of just five hours and 16 minutes for BA114, which arrived an hour and half before schedule, according to the tracking website, FlightAware.

Dozens of other flights also benefited from the jet stream's winter surge, but those same windshave also triggered severe storms across Britain.

Pilots have long used jet streams - which flow across the globe from west to east - to cut journey times and save fuel.

The Middle East looked more like central Canada Wednesday as a rare winter storm covered an area from Turkey to Israel with snow and falling temperatures. But for residents in the affected areas, the past few winters have brought snow, despite previously going decades without seeing it at all.

Snow in the Middle East. Lebanon for sure -- perhaps on Sinai peninsula. pic.twitter.com/opXMsrOiT4

- Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) January 7, 2015

However, the area is not typically prepared for winter weather, and the result travel and transportation in the region has been brought to a crawl.

Rail services suspended and ferries cancelled in Scotland after winds reach 113mph overnight in worst storm of winter

Hurricane-force winds gusting to over 100mph left a swathe of damage across the north of Britain overnight, bringing down trees and power lines and damaging buildings and road signs.

There was widespread disruption to road, air and ferry travel and all domestic train services were suspended in Scotland before 8am, causing chaos for commuters.

Around 75,000 homes were left without power in the Highlands and Islands in the worst storm of the winter.

A wind speed of 113mph was recorded in Stornoway in the Western Isles overnight, the strongest gust recorded in the town since records began in 1970. Elsewhere, there were gusts up to 110mph at Loch Glascarnoch, and 97mph Altnaharra. A wind speed of 140mph was recorded on the summit of Cairngorm mountain.

Stornoway coastguard went to the aid of a vulnerable 80-year-old woman after the windows of her house in the village of Point, on Lewis, were blown in during the night.

Britain is bracing itself for a storm bringing gale force winds of up to 100mph, which could rip up trees, damage buildings and severely affect public transport.

Two powerful Atlantic storms are set to batter the country, with winds as ferocious as those which caused misery last winter due to sweep in from this evening, forecasters have warned.

When the twin storms have passed there will be no break from the severe weather, as snow is expected to fall in parts of Britain on Saturday afternoon bringing further transport chaos.

14 skydivers have been ripped out of the sky by wild winds, with two victims rushed to hospital and 12 others treated by paramedics after the terrifying crash landings.

After a 38-degree sunny day, a fierce storm quickly took hold with the skydivers suddenly facing an intense hail storm and violent winds.

Horrified members of the public looked to the sky as skydivers fell at a rapid pace, battered onto St Kilda beach in Melbourne.

Eight people are missing after their cargo ship overturned in stormy seas.

A major air and sea rescue operation has been mounted after the upturned hull of the vessel was spotted off the north coast of Scotland this afternoon.

But hopes of finding any survivors are rapidly diminishing as weather conditions in the area continue to deteriorate as darkness falls.

The upturned hull of the Cemfjord, a cargo ship registered in Cyprus, was spotted by a passing passenger ferry at 2.30pm today. It is understood that there were eight people onboard.

The 83-metre ship, which was carrying cement from Denmark to Runcorn, Cheshire, is now drifting in freezing waters of the Pentland Firth - 15 miles north-east of Wick.

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: 'We have discovered wreckage but, at present, there are no survivors in the immediate vicinity.'

Four people in Brazil have been killed by a lightning strike on a beach crowded with holidaymakers, according to media reports.

Four others were taken to hospital - two of them are said to be in a serious condition.

If you want a white Christmas, go to ... Hawaii?

The Big Island of Hawaii received a blizzard warning for the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanic peaks Wednesday.

The peaks were expected to accumulate 8 inches each with higher drifts. Along with snow, there were high winds and warnings of lightning strikes as well as life-threatening conditions.

Both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are above 11,000 feet in elevation. The National Weather service warned no one should travel up there to drive or hike the summits, and if they did go up there, to bring a survival kit. The National Park Service closed the trails up the mountains.

Below the summits, there were warnings of flooding rains, presenting the danger of flash floods on Thursday.