National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Areas of Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall Through This Weekend

Severe thunderstorms which can bring large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes will be possible over parts of the central U.S. through this weekend. Thunderstorms with heavy to excessive rainfall moving from Texas into the mid-Mississippi Valley through this weekend may produce areas of flooding. 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.