APR-2 tropical cyclone observations

The Second Generation Airborne Precipitation Radar (APR-2) participated in the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) experiment in August and September of 2010, collecting a large volume of data in several tropical systems, including Hurricanes Earl and Karl. The APR-2 observations consist of the vertical structure of rain reflectivity at 13.4 and 35.6 GHz, and at both co-polarization and cross-polarization, as well as vertical Doppler measurements and crosswind measurements. Such a comprehensive set of radar observables is extremely valuable for detailed studies of the processes, microphysics and dynamics of tropical cyclones, as well as weaker systems that are associated with tropical cyclone formation. Examples of each of these situations were observed in GRIP. To analyze the APR-2 GRIP data set for tropical cyclones, radial passes through the storm centers are organized for comparison with other data, particularly dropsonde and P-3 flight level and radar data. We are currently focusing on comparing data on August 29 and 30, when Hurricane Earl rapidly intensified, and are specifically looking at differences in convection and tangential wind fields.