Determining Tropical Cyclogenesis in the eastern North Pacific Using Remotely Sensed Data

Tropical cyclones and ambient cloud clusters from the eastern Pacific 2009 and 2010 tropical seasons are examined using remotely sensed data to see if differences between the two populations can provide insight into whether a given disturbance will develop into a tropical depression. Data used includes GOES East and West Infrared satellite imagery as well as lightning flash counts from the Global Lightning Dataset 360 and the Long-range Lightning Detection Network. All tropical systems that develop within the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone and surrounding eastern North Pacific basin which exist over the ocean and maintain organized convection for 72 hours are included. Analysis of the remotely sensed observations is then performed to determine if there is a difference between the two groups in the 6 hourly lightning flash counts, used as a proxy for deep convection, or cloud top temperatures.