Relation of Satellite-Based Thunderstorm Intensity to Radar-Estimated Rainfall

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Abstract
Quantitative observations of thunderstorms in the midwest United States made with short-interval (5 min) geosynchronous satellite data are examined in relation to concurrent digital radar observations for one case study over a limited area. Individual thunderstorms are defined in the satellite infrared (IR) data by the location of relative minima in the equivalent blackbody temperature (TBB) field. In a large majority of cases, these satellite-defined thunderstorms coincide with individual radar echoes. This agreement allows comparison of digital satellite and radar data for individual thunderstorms. The evolution of individual thunderstorms in terms of radar echo and satellite-observed cloud features is examined. An examination of a number of storms indicated that the first low-level radar echo (18 dBZ) appeared when the satellite observed cloud-top minimum TBB had a mean of 246 K (7.4 km). As the storms evolve, larger reflectivities appear as the cloud tops penetrate upward to colder temperatur... Abstract Quantitative observations of thunderstorms in the midwest United States made with short-interval (5 min) geosynchronous satellite data are examined in relation to concurrent digital radar observations for one case study over a limited area. Individual thunderstorms are defined in the satellite infrared (IR) data by the location of relative minima in the equivalent blackbody temperature (TBB) field. In a large majority of cases, these satellite-defined thunderstorms coincide with individual radar echoes. This agreement allows comparison of digital satellite and radar data for individual thunderstorms. The evolution of individual thunderstorms in terms of radar echo and satellite-observed cloud features is examined. An examination of a number of storms indicated that the first low-level radar echo (18 dBZ) appeared when the satellite observed cloud-top minimum TBB had a mean of 246 K (7.4 km). As the storms evolve, larger reflectivities appear as the cloud tops penetrate upward to colder temperatur...

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