The role of the asymmetric mode in a turbulent regime

Motivated by high-resolution hot tower structure in the eyewall of Hurricane Dennis (2005; Guimond et al. 2009), large eddy simulations of the hurricane vortex response to radar retrieved heating perturbations are presented. Preliminary results on the structure and energetics during the adjustment and axisymmetrization processes will be presented. In addition, the sensitivity of the symmetric vortex response to radar sampling rates of hot towers will be analyzed. The final results are expected to have implications for observing systems that monitor convection in hurricanes.