A Precipitation Climatology of Major Atlantic Basin Hurricanes from 2002-2018

Abstract

Objective assessment of tropical cyclone precipitation has proven to be a significant challenge due mainly to the lack of observations over the open ocean. Advancements in satellite observations, such as those with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) suite, have allowed forecasters to quantify the precipitation capacity and tracking of these systems with greater accuracy. However, despite the improvements in hurricane tracking via satellite, there is a relative lack of research regarding the precipitation characteristics of hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin. This study aims to utilize the GOES Precipitation Index (GPI) to relate the distribution of rainfall throughout major Atlantic Basin hurricanes through several perspectives, such as categorical ratings and climatic trends. The study will focus on hurricanes that occurred between the years of 2002 and 2018 to develop a short climatology of major Atlantic Basin hurricanes. Such a climatology may be informative upon the potential rainfall risks associated with the observed trend in tropical cyclone intensity