This image from the TRMM satellite on Aug. 23 shows the rain and clouds from Hurricane Irene. Areas in red mark the tops of deep convection towers near the center and in the outer rainbands with tops near 9 miles high (brighter red areas). Also, evident at this time is an area of shallow tops (in blue) near to the center where the drier air had worked its way into the storm.

Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce