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NASA's TRMM Satellite Analyzes Hurricane Irene in Rainfall, Lightning, Eyewall
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On Sunday, August 21, 2011, Irene was only a tropical storm, and the TRMM Precipitation Radar reveals that it had an impressive hot tower that reached over 9.5 miles high (15.75 km). Strong radar signals, perhaps from large ice particles are shown in red at the base of the hot towers, which suggests strong updrafts were present in order for the ice particles to have time to grow large. Strong rain had yet to completely encircle the eye, as is typical of tropical storms.
On Tuesday evening, August 23, 2011 Irene was a category 1 hurricane, in the process of intensifying to category 3 in less than 12 hours.Consistent with intensification, the TRMM radar showed that Irene had a complete eyewall circling its eye along with a region of intense convection on the eastern side of the eyewall (right side of image). Some studies suggest that bursts of convection in one portion of a hurricane's eyewall may help to pump latent heat into a hurricane and thereby assist with intensification.
On Wednesday afternoon, Irene had reached the status of a "major" hurricane, at category 3 strength. The observations of the TRMM radar show a compact eyewall, with the possibility that an outer eyewall is forming. Double eyewalls can be part of an eyewall replacement cycle associated with changes in hurricane intensity, either increases or decreases that are difficult to predict.
Credit: NASA
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Stormchaser81 is a very talented member of the Xtreme Weather Team whose areas of expertise include Doppler radar, satellite interpretation, severe weather warnings, and tropical weather forecasting.
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