Tropical Cyclone Intensity Change Research Articles

Does strong vertical wind shear certainly lead to the weakening of a tropical cyclone?

This is a preliminary pilot study giving an important insight into the feasible improvement of existing prediction of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change by revisiting the relevant impact of vertical wind shear (VWS), where VWS is commonly defined as the environmental horizontal wind difference between the top and bottom of the shear layer. Macroscopically, strong VWS has been concluded to be detrimental to TC intensification. However, this study, from the microscopic point of view, shows that given the same thermal forcing, strong VWS does not certainly lead to TC weakening. Considering the magnitude, direction or orientation of VWS alone is no longer comprehensively physical enough for predicting the change in TC intensity. Instead, the whole profile of VWS (VWSP), that is the environmental horizontal winds at all levels within the shear layer, determines. The ventilation of dry and low-entropy air that are directly or indirectly driven by the environmental flows in the upper-, mid- and lower-troposphere could modify TC intensity in various extent. The VWSP is proposed to be a new potential proxy or update of the current TC intensity change prediction.

Parameterizing Sea Surface Temperature Cooling Induced by Tropical Cyclones: 1. Theory and An Application to Typhoon Matsa (2005)

AbstractSea surface temperature cooling (SSTC) induced by tropical cyclones (TCs) could produce a significant impact on the TC intensity. Although a coupled atmosphere‐ocean model could provide such SSTC, various challenges associated with coupled modeling often lead many TC researchers to continue to use atmosphere‐only models. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to develop a fast, robust, and effective parameterization scheme for TC‐induced SSTC that can be used in atmosphere‐only TC models. The following three steps are taken to achieve this goal: (i) Results from an idealized ocean simulation, together with theoretical and temperature budget analyses, are analyzed to isolate each major mechanism causing TC‐induced SSTC, which is then used as a basis for the parameterization; (ii) building upon the idealized ocean simulation, a new SSTC parameterization scheme including vertical mixing, advection, and SST recovery processes under the influences of sea surface height anomalies and ocean subsurface temperature is developed; and (iii) this SSTC parameterization scheme is evaluated through numerical simulations of Typhoon Matsa (2005) and validated against remote sensing data. Results show significant improvements in the simulated TC intensity and SST changes after applying this parameterization scheme. Although further testing with more TC cases is needed, these results are promising, and the parameterization scheme should be compatible with any TC weather prediction model.

Young Ocean Waves Favor the Rapid Intensification of Tropical Cyclones—A Global Observational Analysis

Abstract Identifying the condition(s) of how tropical cyclones intensify, in particular rapid intensification, is challenging, because of the complexity of the problem involving internal dynamics, environments, and mutual interactions; yet the benefit to improved forecasts may be rewarding. To make the analysis more tractable, an attempt is made here focusing near the sea surface, by examining 23-yr global observations comprising over 16 000 cases of tropical cyclone intensity change, together with upper-ocean features, surface waves, and low-level atmospheric moisture convergence. Contrary to the popular misconception, we found no statistically significant evidence that thicker upper-ocean layers and/or warmer temperatures are conducive to rapid intensification. Instead, we found in storms undergoing rapid intensification significantly higher coincidence of low-level moisture convergence and a dimensionless air–sea exchange coefficient closely related to the youth of the surface waves under the storm. This finding is consistent with the previous modeling results, verified here using ensemble experiments, that higher coincidence of moisture and surface fluxes tends to correlate with intensification, through greater precipitation and heat release. The young waves grow to saturation in the right-front quadrant as a result of trapped-wave resonance for a group of Goldilocks cyclones that translate neither too slowly nor too quickly, which 70% of rapidly intensifying storms belong. Young waves in rapidly intensifying storms also produce relatively less (as percentage of the wind input) Stokes-induced mixing and cooling in the cyclone core. A reinforcing coupling between tropical cyclone wind and waves leading to rapid intensification is proposed.

Diabatic Heating and Convective Asymmetries During Rapid Intensity Changes of Tropical Cyclones Over North Indian Ocean

ABSTRACT Rapid changes in Tropical Cyclone (TC) structure and intensity are the most difficult aspects of TC forecasting. The intensity and structural changes associated with rapid intensification (RI) and rapid weakening (RW) instances of TCs of North Indian Ocean (NIO) are analysed based on 5 cases each for RI and RW. The vertical profiles of heat (Q1) and moisture (Q2) based on heat and moisture budget equations are analysed to bring out the role of diabatic heating during the RI and RW processes. The associated structural changes are analysed based on the Fourier first order wave number-1 asymmetry in the precipitation patterns associated with RI and RW instances. During RI process, there are 2 predominant Q1 maxima associated with latent heat release near the TC centre, one in the upper troposphere and the other in the lower troposphere. During RW process, there is a single dominant Q1 and Q2 maxima in the mid-troposphere. Regarding the structural changes, there is a pronounced front-back asymmetry in both RI and RW cases. The asymmetry amplitude in the inner core is lower in the case of RI events but, is quite high for RW events. Thus, RW events are characterised by large convective asymmetry.

Anthropogenic influences on major tropical cyclone events

There is no consensus on whether climate change has yet affected the statistics of tropical cyclones, owing to their large natural variability and the limited period of consistent observations. In addition, projections of future tropical cyclone activity are uncertain, because they often rely on coarse-resolution climate models that parameterize convection and hence have difficulty in directly representing tropical cyclones. Here we used convection-permitting regional climate model simulations to investigate whether and how recent destructive tropical cyclones would change if these events had occurred in pre-industrial and in future climates. We found that, relative to pre-industrial conditions, climate change so far has enhanced the average and extreme rainfall of hurricanes Katrina, Irma and Maria, but did not change tropical cyclone wind-speed intensity. In addition, future anthropogenic warming would robustly increase the wind speed and rainfall of 11 of 13 intense tropical cyclones (of 15 events sampled globally). Additional regional climate model simulations suggest that convective parameterization introduces minimal uncertainty into the sign of projected changes in tropical cyclone intensity and rainfall, which allows us to have confidence in projections from global models with parameterized convection and resolution fine enough to include tropical cyclones.

Statistical Regression Scheme for Intensity Prediction of Tropical Cyclones in the Northwestern Pacific

AbstractThis study proposes a statistical regression scheme to forecast tropical cyclone (TC) intensity at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h in the northwestern Pacific region. This study utilizes best track data from the Shanghai Typhoon Institute (STI), China, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), United States, from 2000 to 2015. In addition to conventional factors involving climatology and persistence, this study pays close attention to the land effect on TC intensity change by considering a new factor involving the ratio of seawater area to land area (SL ratio) in the statistical regression model. TC intensity changes are investigated over the entire life-span, over the open ocean, near the coast, and after landfall. Data from 2000 to 2011 are used for model calibration, and data from 2012 to 2015 are used for model validation. The results show that the intensity change during the previous 12 h (DVMAX), the potential future intensity change (POT), and the area-averaged (200–800 km) wind shear at 1000–300 hPa (SHRD) are the most significant predictors of the intensity change for TCs over the open ocean and near the coast. Intensity forecasting for TCs near the coast and over land is improved with the addition of the SL ratio compared with that of the models that do not consider the SL ratio. As this study has considered the TC intensity change over the entire TC life-span, the proposed models are valuable and practical for forecasting TC intensity change over the open ocean, near the coast, and after landfall.

Reduced Sensitivity of Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Size to Sea Surface Temperature in a Radiative-Convective Equilibrium Environment

It has been challenging to project the tropical cyclone (TC) intensity, structure and destructive potential changes in a warming climate. Here, we compare the sensitivities of TC intensity, size and destructive potential to sea surface warming with and without a pre-storm atmospheric adjustment to an idealized state of Radiative-Convective Equilibrium (RCE). Without RCE, we find large responses of TC intensity, size and destructive potential to sea surface temperature (SST) changes, which is in line with some previous studies. However, in an environment under RCE, the TC size is almost insensitive to SST changes, and the sensitivity of intensity is also much reduced to 3% °C−1–4% °C−1. Without the pre-storm RCE adjustment, the mean destructive potential measured by the integrated power dissipation increases by about 25% °C−1 during the mature stage. However, in an environment under RCE, the sensitivity of destructive potential to sea surface warming does not change significantly. Further analyses show that the reduced response of TC intensity and size to sea surface warming under RCE can be explained by the reduced thermodynamic disequilibrium between the air boundary layer and the sea surface due to the RCE adjustment. When conducting regional-scale sea surface warming experiments for TC case studies, without any RCE adjustment the TC response is likely to be unrealistically exaggerated. The TC intensity–temperature sensitivity under RCE is very similar to those found in coupled climate model simulations. This suggests global mean intensity projections under climate change can be understood in terms of a thermodynamic response to temperature with only a minor contribution from any changes in large-scale dynamics.

Capturing Size and Intensity Changes of Hurricanes Irma and Maria (2017) from Polar-Orbiting Satellite Microwave Radiometers

Abstract A recently refined hurricane warm-core retrieval algorithm was applied to data from multiple polar-orbiting satellites that carry the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) to examine the diurnal variability of the warm cores of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. These hurricanes occurred during the 2017 hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season. Compared with data gathered by dropsondes within 100–1700 km of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, the means and standard deviations of the differences between ATMS-derived and dropsonde-measured temperature profiles were less than 0.7 and 1 K, respectively, in the vertical layer between ~180 and 750 hPa. The temporal evolutions of the ATMS-derived and AMSU-A-derived maximum warm-core temperature anomalies followed more closely that of the minimum mean sea level pressure and slightly less closely that of the maximum sustained wind. The radii of the ATMS-derived warm cores at 4 and 6 K compared favorably with the 34- and 50-kt-wind radii, respectively, of Hurricane Irma (1 kt = 0.51 m s−1). The vertical extent of the warm core toward lower levels increased with increasing intensity when Hurricane Irma experienced a strong intensification because of an enhanced latent heat release associated with diabatic processes. The tropical cyclone (TC) inner cores at upper-tropospheric levels (~250 hPa) were characterized by a single-peaked diurnal cycle with a maximum around midnight. This warm-core cycle may be an important element of TC dynamics and may have relevance to TC structural and intensity changes.

Monthly variability of Luzon Strait tropical cyclone intensification over the Northern South China Sea in recent decades

A number of tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific (WNP) pass through Luzon Strait (LS) into the South China Sea (SCS) from June to November every year. The monthly variability of the ratio of TC intensity change, Rtc, shows that majority of the LSTCs achieve their lifetime maximum intensity (LMI) over the northern SCS (WNP) during August–September (June–July and October–November). Furthermore, compared to August, LSTCs in September are more easily intensified, suggesting that atmospheric and/or oceanic environments over the northern SCS in September are more favorable for TC development. The monthly-averaged oceanic and atmospheric environmental factors, including sea surface temperature, upper-ocean warm layer depth, vertical wind shear, relative humidity and large-scale low-level vorticity, are compared. The comparison between August and September is mainly studied because of the higher LSTCs frequency in these 2 months. The intensification tendency of LSTCs in September is primarily attributed to the relative thick upper-ocean warm layer and weak vertical wind shear. The transition of East Asian summer monsoon to winter monsoon tends to provide more favorable environmental conditions in September than in August for TC intensification in the northern SCS.

Normalized Convective Characteristics of Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification Events in the North Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific

The relationship between tropical cyclone (TC) convective characteristics and TC intensity change is explored using infrared and passive microwave satellite imagery of TCs in the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins from 1989 to 2016. TC intensity change episodes were placed into one of four groups: rapid intensification (RI), slow intensification (SI), neutral (N), and weakening (W). To account for differences in the distributions of TC intensity among the intensity change groups, a normalization technique is introduced, which allows for the analysis of anomalous TC convective characteristics and their relationship to TC intensity change. A composite analysis of normalized convective parameters shows anomalously cold infrared and 85-GHz brightness temperatures, as well as anomalously warm 37-GHz brightness temperatures, in the upshear quadrants of the TC are associated with increased rates of TC intensification, including RI. For RI episodes in the North Atlantic basin, an increase in anomalous liquid hydrometeor content precedes anomalous ice hydrometeor content by approximately 12 h, suggesting convection deep enough to produce robust ice scattering is a symptom of, rather than a precursor to, RI. In the eastern North Pacific basin, the amount of anomalous liquid and ice hydrometeors increases in tandem near the onset of RI. Normalized infrared and passive microwave brightness temperatures can be utilized to skillfully predict episodes of RI, as the forecast skill of RI episodes using solely normalized convective parameters is comparable to the forecast skill of RI episodes by current operational statistical models.

The Relationship between Spatial Variations in the Structure of Convective Bursts and Tropical Cyclone Intensification as Determined by Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract The relationship between radial and azimuthal variations in the composite characteristics of convective bursts (CBs), that is, regions of the most intense upward motion in tropical cyclones (TCs), and TC intensity change is examined using NOAA P-3 tail Doppler radar. Aircraft passes collected over a 13-yr period are examined in a coordinate system rotated relative to the deep-layer vertical wind shear vector and normalized by the low-level radius of maximum winds (RMW). The characteristics of CBs are investigated to determine how the radial and azimuthal variations of their structures are related to hurricane intensity change. In general, CBs have elevated reflectivity just below the updraft axis, enhanced tangential wind below and radially outward of the updraft, enhanced vorticity near the updraft, and divergent radial flow at the top of the updraft. When examining CB structure by shear-relative quadrant, the downshear-right (upshear left) region has updrafts at the lowest (highest) altitudes and weakest (strongest) magnitudes. When further stratifying by intensity change, the greatest differences are seen upshear. Intensifying storms have updrafts on the upshear side at a higher altitude and stronger magnitude than steady-state storms. This distribution provides a greater projection of diabatic heating onto the azimuthal mean, resulting in a more efficient vortex spinup. For variations based on radial location, CBs located inside the RMW show stronger updrafts at a higher altitude for intensifying storms. Stronger and deeper updrafts inside the RMW can spin up the vortex through greater angular momentum convergence and a more efficient vortex response to the diabatic heating.

Comparison of the effect of easterly and westerly vertical wind shear on tropical cyclone intensity change over the western North Pacific

The effects of vertical wind shear (VWS) with different directions on tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change are compared in this statistical study based on TCs occurring between 1982 and 2015 over the western North Pacific (WNP). Results show that a westerly VWS has a much higher correlation (−0.36) with change in TC intensity than an easterly VWS (−0.07) over the WNP, especially south-westerly VWS (−0.43). Sea surface temperature (SST) is found to modulate the effect of VWS on TC intensity change as it has a close relationship with zonal VWS (−0.48). The favorable effect of SST, which increases with increase in easterly VWS, could offset the detrimental effect of VWS, leading to a relatively low correlation coefficient between easterly VWS and TC intensity change. By contrast, westerly VWS increases with decreasing SST, and the largest correlation coefficient appears when SST is around 301 K. Therefore, it is suggested that the direction of VWS as well as its value is taken into consideration in models used to predict TC intensity.

Diagnosing Conditions Associated with Large Intensity Forecast Errors in the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) Model

Abstract Understanding and forecasting tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change continues to be a paramount challenge for the research and operational communities, partly because of inherent systematic biases contained in model guidance, which can be difficult to diagnose. The purpose of this paper is to present a method to identify such systematic biases by comparing forecasts characterized by large intensity errors with analog forecasts that exhibit small intensity errors. The methodology is applied to the 2015 version of the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) Model retrospective forecasts in the North Atlantic (NATL) and eastern North Pacific (EPAC) basins during 2011–14. Forecasts with large 24-h intensity errors are defined to be in the top 15% of all cases in the distribution that underforecast intensity. These forecasts are compared to analog forecasts taken from the bottom 50% of the error distribution. Analog forecasts are identified by finding the case that has 0–24-h intensity and wind shear magnitude time series that are similar to the large intensity error forecasts. Composite differences of the large and small intensity error forecasts reveal that the EPAC large error forecasts have weaker reflectivity and vertical motion near the TC inner core from 3 h onward. Results over the NATL are less clear, with the significant differences between the large and small error forecasts occurring radially outward from the TC core. Though applied to TCs, this analog methodology could be useful for diagnosing systematic model biases in other applications.

How Well Can the Met Office Unified Model Forecast Tropical Cyclones in the Western North Pacific?

Abstract Convection-permitting numerical weather prediction models are a key tool for forecasting tropical cyclone (TC) intensities, intensity changes, and precipitation. The Met Office has been routinely running a regional (4.4-km grid spacing), explicit convection version of its Unified Model (UM) over the Philippines since August 2014, driven by its operational global model. The principal aim of this study is to assess the performance of this model relative to the driving global model. By evaluating over a year’s worth of operational TC forecasts, it is shown that the Philippines regional model offers clear benefits for TC forecasting compared with the Met Office global model. In particular, it provides much improved predictions for the intensities of strong storms (category 3 and above) and can successfully capture some rapid intensification (RI) events, whereas the global model cannot predict RI at all. The spatial location of rainfall within intense TCs is also more skillfully predicted by the regional model, and the statistical distribution of rain rates is closer to that observed. Although the regional model adds value, notable biases are also identified, highlighting areas for future work to develop and improve the model.

Precipitation, Convective Clouds, and Their Connections With Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Intensity Change

AbstractIn this paper, satellite‐based precipitation, clouds with infrared (IR) brightness temperature (BT), and tropical cyclone (TC) data from 2000 to 2015 are used to explore the relationship between precipitation, convective cloud, and TC intensity change in the Western North Pacific Ocean. An IR BT of 208 K was chosen as a threshold for deep convection based on different diurnal cycles of IR BT. More precipitation and colder clouds with 208 K < IR BT < 240 K are found as storms intensify, while TC 24 h future intensity change is closely connected with very deep convective clouds with IR BT < 208 K. Intensifying TCs follow the occurrence of colder clouds with IR BT < 208 K with greater areal extents. As an indicator of very deep convective clouds, IR BT < 208 K is suggested to be a good predictor of TC intensity change. Based upon the 16 year analysis in the western North Pacific, TCs under the conditions that the mean temperature of very deep convective clouds is less than 201 K, and the coverage of this type of clouds is more than 27.4% within a radius of 300 km of the TC center, will more likely undergo rapid intensification after 24 h.

Understanding Biases in Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecast Error

Abstract The characteristics of 24-h official forecast errors (OFEs) of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity are analyzed over the North Atlantic, east Pacific, and western North Pacific. The OFE is demonstrated to be strongly anticorrelated with TC intensity change with correlation coefficients of −0.77, −0.77, and −0.68 for the three basins, respectively. The 24-h intensity change in the official forecast closely follows a Gaussian distribution with a standard deviation only ⅔ of that in nature, suggesting the current official forecasts estimate fewer cases of large intensity change. The intensifying systems tend to produce negative errors (underforecast), while weakening systems have consistent positive errors (overforecast). This asymmetrical bias is larger for extreme intensity change, including rapid intensification (RI) and rapid weakening (RW). To understand this behavior, the errors are analyzed in a simple objective model, the trend-persistence model (TPM). The TPM exhibits the same error-intensity change correlation. In the TPM, the error can be understood as it is exactly inversely proportional to the finite difference form of the concavity or second derivative of the intensity–time curve. The occurrence of large negative (positive) errors indicates the intensity–time curve is concave upward (downward) in nature during the TC’s rapid intensification (weakening) process. Thus, the fundamental feature of the OFE distribution is related to the shape of the intensity–time curve, governed by TC dynamics. All forecast systems have difficulty forecasting an accelerating rate of change, or a large second derivative of the intensity–time curve. TPM may also be useful as a baseline in evaluating the skill of official forecasts. According to this baseline, official forecasts are more skillful in RW than in RI.

A Case Study on Power Outage Impacts from Future Hurricane Sandy Scenarios

AbstractHurricane Sandy (2012, referred to as Current Sandy) was among the most devastating storms to impact Connecticut’s overhead electric distribution network, resulting in over 15 000 outage locations that affected more than 500 000 customers. In this paper, the severity of tree-caused outages in Connecticut is estimated under future-climate Hurricane Sandy simulations, each exhibiting strengthened winds and heavier rain accumulation over the study area from large-scale thermodynamic changes in the atmosphere and track changes in the year ~2100 (referred to as Future Sandy). Three machine-learning models used five weather simulations and the ensemble mean of Current and Future Sandy, along with land-use and overhead utility infrastructure data, to predict the severity and spatial distribution of outages across the Eversource Energy service territory in Connecticut. To assess the influence of increased precipitation from Future Sandy, two approaches were compared: an outage model fit with a full set of variables accounting for both wind and precipitation, and a reduced set with only wind. Future Sandy displayed an outage increase of 42%–64% when using the ensemble of WRF simulations fit with three different outage prediction models. This study is a proof of concept for the assessment of increased outage risk resulting from potential changes in tropical cyclone intensity associated with late-century thermodynamic changes driven by the IPCC AR4 A2 emissions scenario.

The Role of Near-Core Convective and Stratiform Heating/Cooling in Tropical Cyclone Structure and Intensity

The effects of convective and stratiform diabatic processes in the near-core region on tropical cyclone (TC) structure and intensity change are examined by artificially modifying the convective and stratiform heating/cooling between 40- and 80-km radii. Sensitivity experiments show that the absence of convective heating in the annulus can weaken TC intensity and decrease the inner-core size. The increased convective heating generates a thick and polygonal eyewall, while the storm intensifies more gently than that in the control run. The removal of stratiform heating can slow down TC intensification with a moderate intensity, whereas the doubling of stratiform heating has little effect on the TC evolution compared to the control run. The halved stratiform cooling facilitates TC rapid intensification and a compact inner-core structure with the spiral rainbands largely suppressed. With the stratiform cooling doubled, the storm terminates intensification and eventually develops a double-eyewall-like structure accompanied by the significantly outward expansion of the inner-core size. The removal of both stratiform heating and cooling generates the strongest storm with the structure and intensity similar to those in the experiment with stratiform cooling halved. When both stratiform heating and cooling are doubled, the storm first decays rapidly, followed by the vertical connection of the updrafts at mid- to upper levels in the near-core region and at lower levels in the collapsed eyewall, which reinvigorates the eyewall convection but with a large outward slope.

A 10-Year Survey of Tropical Cyclone Inner-Core Lightning Bursts and Their Relationship to Intensity Change

Abstract This study seeks to reconcile discrepancies between previous studies analyzing the relationship between lightning and tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change. Inner-core lightning bursts (ICLBs) were identified from 2005 to 2014 in North Atlantic (NA) and eastern North Pacific (ENP) TCs embedded in favorable environments (e.g., vertical wind shear ≤ 10 m s−1; sea surface temperatures ≥ 26.5°C) using data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) transformed onto a regular grid with 8-km grid spacing to replicate the expected nadir resolution of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). Three hypothesized factors that could impact the 24-h intensity change after a burst were tested: 1) prior intensity change, 2) azimuthal burst location, and 3) radial burst location. Most ICLBs occurred in weak TCs (tropical depressions and tropical storms), and most TCs intensified (remained steady) 24 h after burst onset in the NA (ENP). TCs were more likely to intensify 24 h after an ICLB if they were steady or intensifying prior to burst onset. Azimuthally, 75% of the ICLBs initiated downshear, with 92% of downshear bursts occurring in TCs that remained steady or intensified. Of the ICLBs that initiated or rotated upshear, 2–3 times more were associated with TC intensification than weakening, consistent with recent studies finding more symmetric convection in intensifying TCs. The radial burst location relative to the radius of maximum wind (RMW) provided the most promising result: TCs with an ICLB inside (outside) the RMW were associated with intensification (weakening).

Tropical Cyclone Characterization via Nocturnal Low-Light Visible Illumination

AbstractGlobal monitoring of tropical cyclones (TC) is enhanced by the unique capabilities provided by the day–night band (DNB), a sensor included on the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) flying on board the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. The DNB, a low-light visible–near-infrared-band passive radiometer, can leverage unconventional (i.e., nonsolar) sources of visible light illumination such as moonlight to infer storm structure at night. The DNB provides an unprecedented capability to resolve moonlit clouds at high resolution, offering numerous potential benefits to both operational TC analysts and researchers developing new methods of monitoring TCs occurring within the largely data-void tropical oceanic basins. DNB digital data provide significant enhancements over older nighttime visible data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) by leveraging accurate calibration, high sensitivity, and sub-kilometer-scale imagery that covers 2–3 times the moon’s lunar cycle than the OLS. By leveraging these attributes, DNB data can enable the use of automated objective applications instead of subjective image interpretation. Here, the authors detail ways in which critical information about TC structure, location, intensity changes, shear environment, lightning, and other characteristics can be extracted when the DNB data are used in isolation or in a multichannel approach with coincident infrared (IR) channels.