Hydrometeor vertical characterization of precipitating clouds over the Mexico Basin

Abstract

A climatological study of the precipitation events for a 6-year period over the Mexico Basin with satellite Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) datasets is presented. Atmospheric parameters retrieved from TRMM products are compared with those observed with radiosonde and synoptic data for annual and seasonal periods. The results of the comparison among hydrometeor vertical profiles, atmospheric soundings and North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) datasets indicate that there is good agreement for cloud-base and 0°C-isotherm height levels. Also, it is confirmed that the geographical location of the study area, along with its typical meteorological characteristics, allows for the development of convective clouds with warm bases and cold cloud tops, particularly during the rainy (summer and autumn) season. Another interesting result of this hydrometeor vertical profile climatology is an explanation for the small number of ice precipitation events from storms over the Mexico Basin, despite its high altitude and geographical characteristics.

Acknowledgements

The TRMM data used in this study were acquired as part of the NASA's Earth-Sun System Division, archived and distributed by the Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The authors are grateful to Dr. Socorro Medina for her valuable comments.