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Winter Storm for Mid-Atlantic and Northeast; Arctic Air Spreads South and East into Next Week

A developing winter storm will track across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Sunday and Sunday night. Meanwhile, arctic air continues to dive southward across the center of the nation and will spread eastward into the new week. Cold temperatures and strong winds will result in dangerous low wind chill values for locations along and east of the Rockies. For southern California, Santa Ana winds return Read More >

Upper Air Observations


Decoded Upper Level Winds

Plotted Upper Air Soundings

GOES Derived Atmospheric Vertical Soundings

Alternate Sources for Upper Air Soundings
Ohio State

California Wind Profiler Data Can be Found Here

Why Do Forecasters Still Rely on Weather Balloons?

Twice every day, from nearly 100 locations in the United States, the National Weather Service launches weather balloons, carrying instrument packages called radiosondes. Radiosonde sensors measure upper-air conditions such as atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction. The data is important for aviation safety, and meteorologists use radiosonde information to prepare weather forecasts.