National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Areas of Dangerous Heat and Severe Thunderstorms

Dangerous heat will persist across the Southwest U.S. through Friday with daytime highs of 110-115°F. Heat across the southern Plains will briefly ease to near-normal by late week before returning over much of the Plains into next week. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of the Northeast U.S. on Thursday. Damaging wind, hail, and a tornado or two are possible. 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.