PREDICT

Prediction and understanding of tropical cyclogenesis remains one of the most challenging aspects of atmospheric science. A multitude of tropical disturbances emerge from the West African coast every year near the Cape Verde islands, but only a few of these develop into tropical depressions, storms, or hurricanes.

To further our understanding of these potentially high impact events. The PRE-Depression Investigation of Cloud-systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) field experiment deployed the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream-V aircraft in the Atlantic basin in the heart of hurricane season to explore multi-scale interactions in tropical wave-like disturbances that promote or hinder the development of a tropical depression vortex.