Spatial distribution of crystal sizes at the top of a hurricane
The spatial distributions of particle absorption lengths (effective sizes), in Hurricane Katrina as derived from MODIS/TERRA measurements for several stages of the storm development (August 24-29<sup>th</sup>, 2005) are considered. The largest crystals existed at the very first stage of the hurricane development, when it was getting organized. There is the enhancing tendency for the increasing in the size of particles along with the distance from the hurricane center. The temporal behavior of spatial distributions of cloud microphysical properties as derived from the analysis of MODIS imagery is studied in detail. The derived comparatively small values of effective diameters of ice crystals in the vicinity of the hurricane center are consistent with the hypothesis of homogeneous nucleation processes taken place in a hurricane, which is due to strong vertical updrafts.