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Major floods in Spain in September 9–13, 2019 resulted in seven casualties and massive losses to agriculture, property and infrastructure. This paper investigates the utility of satellite data to: (1) characterize the event when input into a hydrological model, and to provide an accurate picture of the evolution of the floods; and (2) inform meteorologists in real time in order to complement model forecasts. It is shown that the precipitation estimates from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory (GPM-CO, available since 2014) and the merged satellite estimates provide an extraordinary improvement over previous technologies to monitor severe hydrometeorological episodes in near real time. In spite of known biases and errors, these new satellite precipitation estimates can be of broad practical interest to deal with emergencies and long-term readiness, especially for semi-arid areas potentially affected by ongoing global warming. Comparisons of satellite data of the September event with model outputs and more direct observations such as rain gauges and ground radars reinforce the idea that satellites are fundamental for an appropriate management of hydrometeorological events. • The IMERG product is useful for monitoring severe storms in the Mediterranean. • Integration of satellite precipitation data into models can save lives and assists planning. • The integration of satellite estimates with numerical forecasts seems unavoidable. • More research on the effects of deep convection over land is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]