Stereoscopic observations of hurricanes and tornadic thunderstorms from geosynchronous satellites

Results are presented to show the application of GOES stereoscopy to the study of hurricanes and tornadic thunderstorms. Stereoscopic cloud top height contour maps were constructed to observe the structural evolution of two hurricanes: Frederic, 12 September 1979 and Allen, 8 August 1980 and a tornadic thunderstorm complex over Oklahoma on 2–3 May 1979. Stereoscopic height contours of Hurricane Allen show a very intense and symmetric storm with a circular shaped Central Dense Overcast (CDO) with an average height of 16.5 km. Height contours of Hurricane Frederic show a preferred region for convection with an explosive exhaust tower reaching a maximum height of 17.8 km. A technique for estimating tropical cyclone intensity using GOES stereoscopic height and infrared temperature information is also presented. Utilizing short interval (3-min) GOES stereoscopic data from 2 May 1979 and 9 May 1979 (SESAME days), cloud top ascent rates were measured and used in determining the intensity of growing convective cells. Results show vertical motions ranging from 4.4 m s^?1 for a moderate storm to 7.7 m s^?1 for an intense storm. These results compare well in magnitude with growth rates determined from simultaneous GOES infrared observations and previous estimates of visual and radar echo top growth rates of other thunderstorms.