NOAA P-3 Mission Summary Report (EPIC)

ITCZ mission,  the WP3 flew the same lawn-mower pattern 
in the box 8-12 N 93-97 W. We deployed 26 AXCP (4 fail), 
20 AXCTD (1 fail), and 15 GPS-dropsondes (3 fail).
This time, the GPS sondes were dropped only at 12, 10, 
and 8 North.  All instruments seemed to work well.

Surface winds were very light, typically between 2 and 5
m/s, they were northeasterlies in most of the pattern
except at the 97W,8N corner where they turn north-westerlies.
Flight level winds were primarily easterlies (10 to 15 m/s).
Widespread zones with no clouds at all were seen (not even
cirrus). We encounter a few very shallow clouds (no taller
than 4km) in our pattern. Only an East-West line was seen 
embedded in a stratiform region around 95W 11N.