Tropical cyclone analysis using AMSU data

The first Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) was launched aboard the NOAA 15 satellite on 13 May 1998. The AMSU is well suited for the observation of tropical cyclones because its measurements are not significantly affected by the clouds which cover these storms. In this paper, we present (1) upper tropospheric thermal anomalies in tropical cyclones retrieved from AMSU data, (2) the correlation of maximum temperature anomalies with maximum wind speed and central pressure, (3) winds calculated from the temperature anomaly field, (4) comparison of AMSU data with GOES and AVHRR imagery, and (5) tropical cyclone rainfall potential. Data from two hurricane seasons will be presented.