A new retrieval method to detect steep temperature gradients between the convective overshoots of cumulonimbus clouds and the surrounding cirrus has been applied to determine gradients and their orientation in the image plane of infrared data of the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR). These orientations are used to derive cloud elevations which are brightened by the Sun or are in shadow, which strongly affects the visible signal. The impact of temperature gradients on the visible radiances is illustrated by two examples that indicate deep convective overshoots. Both examples show that the illuminated side of the overshoots can exceed the cloud top reflectivity by 50%, while the shadows account for 32). ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union