Relation of satellite-based thunderstorm intensity to radar- estimated rainfall ( USA, midwest).

Abstract

Quantitative observations of thunderstorms in the midwest US 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. -from Authors