The Pre-Depression Investigation of Cloud systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) experiment: Scientific basis, new analysis tools and some first results

PREDICT was part of a tri-agency collaboration, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (NASA GRIP) experiment and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Intensity Forecasting Experiment (NOAA IFEX), intended to examine both developing and non-developing tropical disturbances.

During PREDICT, a total of 26 missions were flown with the NSF/NCAR GV aircraft sampling eight tropical disturbances. Among these were four cases (Fiona, ex-Gaston, Karl and Matthew) for which three or more missions were conducted, many on consecutive days. Because of the scientific focus on the Lagrangian nature of the tropical cyclogenesis process, a wave-relative frame of reference was adopted throughout the experiment in which various model-and satellite-based products were examined to guide aircraft planning and real-time operations.