A Satellite Infrared Technique to Estimate Tropical Convective and Stratiform Rainfall

Abstract This paper describes a new method of estimating both tropical convective precipitation and stratiform precipitation (produced under the anvils of mature and decaying convective systems) from satellite infrared data. The method, denoted CST (Convective-stratiform Technique) locates, in an array of infrared data, all local minima in the brightness temperature field (Tmin. After an empirical screening to eliminate cirrus, these points are assumed to be convective centers. Rainrate and rain area are assigned to each minimum point as a function of its Tmin, based on one-dimensional cloud model results. A stratiform rain algorithm, using a brightness temperature threshold based on the mode temperature of thunderstorm anvils, completes the convective/stratiform rain estimation. Individual CST rain fields wore spatially most similar to the radar for young, isolated storms, and most dissimilar in capturing linear features such as squall lines. Some convective features were missed, while others (generally ...