Deep Convection Observed During the May-August 1999 Indian Monsoon

The deep convection observed during the May-August 1999 Indian monsoon season and its relationship to the large-scale circulation and sea-surface temperature is investigated. The time and space scales under consideration range from the mean pattern to that of the individual events of JASMINE. The deep convection is identified using Meteosat-5 infrared brightness temperatures; the satellite provided a unique and complete coverage of the Indian Ocean during this time. A tracking routine that identifies cloud clusters with continuity in time and space is applied to objectively describe the scale and movement of the deep convective events.