Central dense overcast

The central dense overcast, or CDO, of a tropical cyclone or strong

subtropical cyclone is the large central area of thunderstorms surrounding its
circulation center, caused by the formation of its eyewall. It can be round,
angular, oval, or irregular in shape. This feature shows up in tropical cyclones
of tropical storm or hurricane strength. How far the center is embedded
within the CDO, and the temperature difference between the cloud tops
within the CDO and the cyclone's eye, can help determine a tropical cyclone's
intensity with the Dvorak technique. Locating the center within the CDO can
be a problem with strong tropical storms and minimal hurricanes as its
location can be obscured by the CDO's high cloud canopy. This center Tropical Storm Ana (2009) with its
location problem can be resolved through the use of microwave satellite small CDO
imagery.

After a cyclone strengthens to around hurricane intensity, an eye appears at the center of the CDO, defining its
center of low pressure and its cyclonic wind field. Tropical cyclones with changing intensity have more lightning
within their CDO than steady state storms. Tracking cloud features within the CDO using frequently updated
satellite imagery can also be used to determine a cyclone's intensity. The highest maximum sustained winds
within a tropical cyclone, as well as its heaviest rainfall, are usually located under the coldest cloud tops in the
CDO.

Characteristics
It is a large region of thunderstorms surrounding the center of stronger
tropical and subtropical cyclones which shows up brightly (with cold cloud
tops) on satellite imagery.[1][2][3] The CDO forms due to the development of
an eyewall within a tropical cyclone.[4] Its shape can be round, oval, angular,
or irregular.[5] Its development can be preceded by a narrow, dense, C-
shaped convective band. Early in its development, the CDO is often angular
or oval in shape, which rounds out, increases in size, and appears more Tropical storm Rafael displaying an
smooth as a tropical cyclone intensifies.[6] Rounder CDO shapes occur in example of a CDO.
environments with low levels of vertical wind shear.[2]

The strongest winds within tropical cyclones tend to be located under the
deepest convection within the CDO, which is seen on satellite imagery as the
coldest cloud tops.[7] The radius of maximum wind is usually collocated with
the coldest cloud tops within the CDO,[7] which is also the area where a
tropical cyclone's rainfall reaches its maximum intensity.[8] For mature
tropical cyclones that are steady state, the CDO contains nearly no lightning
activity, though lightning is more common within weaker tropical cyclones
and for systems fluctuating in intensity.[9]

Eye
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of the CDO of strong Cyclone Winston in the Southern
tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically 30– Hemisphere with a large CDO
65 kilometres (19–40 mi) in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring surrounding its eye
of towering thunderstorms surrounding its center of circulation. The
cyclone's lowest barometric pressure occurs in the eye, and can be as much as 15% lower than the atmospheric
pressure outside the storm.[10] In weaker tropical cyclones, the eye is less well-defined or nonexistent, and can be
covered by cloudiness caused by cirrus cloud outflow from the surrounding central dense overcast.[10]

Use as a tropical cyclone strength indicator

Within the Dvorak satellite strength estimate for tropical cyclones, there are
several visual patterns that a cyclone may take on which define the upper and
lower bounds on its intensity. The central dense overcast (CDO) pattern is
one of those patterns. The central dense overcast utilizes the size of the CDO.
The CDO pattern intensities start at T2.5, equivalent to minimal tropical
storm intensity, 40 mph (64 km/h). The shape of the central dense overcast
is also considered. The farther the center is tucked into the CDO, the stronger Common developmental patterns
it is deemed.[5] Banding features can be utilized to objectively determine the seen during tropical cyclone
development, and their Dvorak-
tropical cyclone's center, using a ten degree logarithmic spiral.[11] Using the
assigned intensities
85–92  GHz channels of polar-orbiting microwave satellite imagery can
definitively locate the center within the CDO.[12]

Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds between 65  mph (105  km/h) and 100  mph (160  km/h) can
have their center of circulations obscured by cloudiness within visible and infrared satellite imagery, which
makes diagnosis of their intensity a challenge.[13] Winds within tropical cyclones can also be estimated by
tracking features within the CDO using rapid scan geostationary satellite imagery, whose pictures are taken
minutes apart rather than every half-hour.[14]

References
1. American Meteorological Society (June 2000). "AMS Glossary: C" (http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossar
y/browse?s=c&p=19). Glossary of Meteorology. Allen Press. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
2. Landsea, Chris (2005-10-19). "What is a "CDO"?" (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html).
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
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Cyclones". National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters: 9.
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Intensities From Satellite Pictures". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: 5–8.
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(https://doi.org/10.1175%2F1520-0493%281975%29103%3C0420%3Atciaaf%3E2.0.co%3B2). Monthly
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10. Landsea, Chris & Sim Aberson (2004-08-13). "What is the "eye"?" (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A11.h
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Charles “Chip” Guard; Mark Lander; Roger Edson; Lixion Avila; Andrew Burton; Mike Turk; Akihiro Kikuchi;
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