Structure of tropical cyclones in the southeast Iran using satellite observations

The southeast Iran is exposed to flash floods from tropical cyclones originating in the North Indian Ocean. During late May–September of the period 2007–2022, 11 cyclones hit this region. Although the theoretical basis of these cyclones is well documented in the literature, their physical structure in terms of rain rate, rain type, warm rain, cloudiness, and aerosol distribution is not yet documented. In this study, the structure of 11 cyclones was investigated by the radar (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and CloudSat), lidar (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite (CALIPSO)), and optic (Aqua) satellite data and ERA5 reanalysis datasets. The results show that the maximum moisture transport and upward motion are located in the southeast quadrant. As a result, the maximum total rain rate, the stratiform and the convective rain rate fall in this quadrant. The distribution of the rain rate is consistent with the distribution of the storm top height. The southeast quadrant followed by the northeast receives the least warm rain. Moreover, the southeast quadrant also recorded the highest frequency of convective clouds. The maximum aerosol optical depth is located in the southern quadrants, particularly in the southwest and is consistent up to 5 km, after which the maximum shifts to the northwest. The obtained results can help decision makers within the hydrological and risk management industries.