Dual Polarization Observations of Electrified Deep Convection During the Landfall of Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian made landfall on the southwestern Florida coast on 28 September 2022 as a Category 4 hurricane. The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) X-band Polarimetric radar (NOXP) and the NSSL Mobile Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) were deployed ahead of Ian. Such a deployment represents the first time a mobile ground-based radar and a mobile LMA were deployed in tandem during a landfalling tropical cyclone (TC). Many prior studies of electrification in TCs center on leveraging long-range detection networks or satellite-borne instrumentation to understand the relationship between TC structure and lightning. Few studies have examined individual convective features with respect to cloud electrification inferred via LMA observations. Such observations were indeed collected by NOXP on the north side of Ian’s eyewall at landfall by a combination of sector plan position indicators (PPIs) and range height indicators (RHIs). This presentation will overview NOXP and LMA observations of dual polarization structure of Ian’s electrified eyewall. Particular focus will be placed on examining LMA-observed flashes within or near individual deep convective structures rotating around Ian’s eye.