Hurricane intensification detected by continuously monitoring tall precipitation in the eyewall

Abstract

Previous studies show that a single observation of tall precipitation in a hurricane's eyewall is often associated with intensification of that hurricane's surface wind. Using WSR‐88D radars, we show that repeated observation of precipitation height provides even more information about wind intensification. If the frequency of tall precipitation in the eyewall is at least 33% (1 in 3 radar volume scans), we find an 82% chance of wind intensification. If this threshold is not met, the chance of wind intensification drops from 82% to just 17%. We show that the WSR‐88D height measurements are reasonable using the TRMM Precipitation Radar.