Tall precipitation cells in tropical cyclone eyewalls are associated with tropical cyclone intensification

Abstract

The association of tall precipitation with tropical cyclone intensification may have implications for the difficult task of forecasting the destructive potential of tropical cyclones. This study uses all of the well‐centered overflights of tropical cyclones from 1998 to 2003 seen by the TRMM Precipitation Radar. The chance of intensification increases when one or more extremely tall convective towers exist in the tropical cyclone's eyewall. We define an extremely tall convective tower as a convective cell with a 20 dBZ reflectivity signal that reaches an altitude of at least 14.5 km. In addition, we adapt this radar technique for use with more plentiful infrared and passive microwave data.