Normalized convective characteristics of tropical cyclone rapid intensification events in the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific

• Published in: Monthly Weather Review
• Other Authors: Fischer, Michael S. (author), Tang, Brian H. (author), Corbosiero, Kristen L. (author), Rozoff, Christopher M. (author)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-17-0239.1

The relationship between tropical cyclone (TC) convective characteristics and TC intensity change is explored using infrared and passive microwave satellite imagery of TCs in the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins from 1989 to 2016. TC intensity change episodes were placed into one of four groups: rapid intensification (RI), slow intensification (SI), neutral (N), and weakening (W). To account for differences in the distributions of TC intensity among the intensity change groups, a normalization technique is introduced, which allows for the analysis of anomalous TC convective characteristics and their relationship to TC intensity change.