Effect of Tropical Cyclone Intensity on the Relationship Between Hydrometeor Distribution and Rapid Intensification by GPM GMI

Abstract This study analyzes hydrometeor evolution during rapid intensification (RI) and tropical cyclone (TC) intensity dependence using satellite data. Previous studies have suggested ice cloud water or non‐convective precipitation as a predictor of RI from different perspectives. However, few studies have focused on the impact of TC intensity or comprehensive comparisons to identify better indicators. During RI, hydrometeor contents in weak TCs increase over the entire region, whereas they increase mainly in the inner‐core region and decrease in advance in the outer‐core region for strong TCs. Hydrometeor contents in the inner‐core are higher in RI than in slow intensification, and their maxima location is related to TC intensity and intensification rate. Cloud water path (CWP) in the inner‐core region is most correlated with the intensification rate, especially in weak TCs. Therefore, the CWP can serve as a predictor of RI and can be applied to all TC intensities.