Areas of Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall Friday

Scattered severe thunderstorms capable of large to very large hail, damaging winds with potentially significant gusts, and perhaps a couple of tornadoes are expected Friday afternoon into night across portions of the central Plains into upper Great Lakes. Thunderstorms with heavy to excessive rainfall may produce flooding over a part of the Midwest Friday. 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.

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