Relation of Tropical Thunderstorm Cirrus Anvil Properties to Convective Core Intensities and Lifecycles

Understanding tropical thunderstorm cirrus anvil microphysics and their relation to the lifecycle and intensity of the thunderstorm's convective core will help improve modeling of these clouds and their environment. The Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) was conducted over south Florida in 2002. Measurements collected during the experiment provide an opportunity to study intensity and lifecycle characteristics of storms observed in south Florida, as well as the properties of the cirrus anvil produced. Data collected from the University of North Dakota's Citation research aircraft and the NASA S-Band polarimetric Doppler radar (NPOL) are used in this study. Storm events were selected from days throughout July that had coincident observations (space and time) between the Citation and NPOL. The intensity and general lifecycles of the thunderstorms and their convective cores are examined to find the maximum reflectivity, anvil height and duration, 10 and 40 dBZ heights above the core, as well as the hydrometeor classification throughout the storm. These characteristics are then compared with the microphysical properties derived from Citation data, which includes the particle size, habit and concentrations. In previous studies, a positive correlation was found between the mean diameter, the maximum reflectivity, and maximum 40 dBZ height, as well as between the anvil duration and maximum reflectivity. It was also found that the maximum reflectivity generally occurred about 10 minutes after the cell was first detected on radar, and the maximum anvil height occurred generally 10 minutes after maximum reflectivity. Through these comparisons, we are trying to determine if there are any relationships between storm intensity and properties of the cirrus anvil cloud of tropical convective systems.