Evaluating Different Convective Indicators of Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification: The Case of Hurricane Earl (2010)

Various studies have related different precipitation characteristics to tropical cyclone intensification, such as strong convective “hot towers” (Guimond et. al., 2010; Kelley et. al., 2004), convective rings (Willoughby, 1990; Harnos and Nesbitt, 2011), high raining area (Jiang and Ramirez, 2013; Cecil and Zipser, 1999), and inner core precipitation symmetry (Rogers et. al., 2013). All of these precipitation characteristics may be present during a tropical cyclone's lifetime, but some might have a greater impact than others on tropical cyclone intensity. This presentation describes the evolution of the precipitation structure and characteristics of Hurricane Earl (2010) before, during, and immediately after Earl underwent rapid intensification (RI, Kaplan and DeMaria, 2003). We utilize passive microwave and infrared satellite measurements, lightning locations from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), reflectivity and retrieved winds from the NOAA P3 tail Doppler radar, and dropsonde and flight-level data from the NOAA P3, NOAA G4, Air Force C130, and NASA DC8 aircraft. This combination of observations provides a detailed time history of Earl's convective characteristics, revealing some indications about the contributions of different precipitation structures to the RI. Implications for future research are also discussed.