An investigation of precipitation structures in Hurricane Bonnie

NASA and NOAA aircraft obtained a wealth of remote sensing and in situ observations of the precipitation structures in hurricanes during CAMEX-3. These observations, in addition to ground based radar data, are used to understand these structures as they are more routinely (but less intensively) viewed by satellite. Of particular importance to this study are the EDOP and ARMAR airborne radars and the AMPR passive microwave radiometer, as they provide higher resolution measurements of fields measured from the TRMM satellite. The goal of this study is to understand how the reflectivity and brightness temperature fields in the hurricane relate to each other and to the microphysical structure of the storm, with particular attention paid to the three dimensional nature of the storm and its evolution.