Abstract The sensitivity of the polarimetric radio occultation (PRO) observable (ΔΦ) to different hydrometeor habits is assessed using discrete dipole approximation forward scattering computations in the PRO geometry. The used habits are those in the atmospheric radiative transfer simulator database. Results indicate that differences of more than one order of magnitude are to be expected when using plate‐like habits with respect to soft aggregates, which may change significantly when a non‐zero dispersion in the distribution of the tilt angles is assumed. The sensitivity of ΔΦ to different habits is assessed comparing actual observations with simulations performed using the weather research forecast model. For the studied case, the presence of plate‐like habits is ruled out, and more importantly, it shows how PRO can be used to further constrain the shape of particles present in the sounded weather events, which may have implications for radiative transfer and data assimilation in numerical weather prediction models.

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