This Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) satellite image of Kyle was captured on October 3, while Kyle was still far from land and winds were blowing at 55 knots. The swath of the orbiter can be seen across the swirl of Kyle's cloud tops, where the different colors reveal rain intensity and structure (blue = light rain, red = heavy rain). While rainfall in the eastern rainband appears impressive TRMM unveils why Kyle ultimately failed to strengthen: Poor organization of rain around the eye. The rain does not form a completely circular eyewall, and only light, sporadic rains are found in the northwestern quadrant. Hurricanes derive their energy from condensation of water vapor into rain. The lack of organized rains all the way around the inner core of Kyle suggests that this storm's "heat engine" was not operating at peak capacity.

While TRMM occasionally captures spectacular images of intense rain clouds within the interior of powerful Atlantic hurricanes, it is also important to study marginal storms such as Kyle, to determine why some tropical disturbances thrive while others fail. Ultimately this knowledge will lead to better predictions of which tropical cyclones pose the greatest U.S. threat.