National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heavy Rain and Flooding in South Texas; Pacific Storm Continuing to Impact the Pacific Northwest

Thunderstorms will continue to bring heavy to excessive rain and possible flooding over the middle and lower Texas Gulf Coast through tonight. A Pacific storm will continue to bring gusty to high winds, hazardous seas, low elevation rain, and mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest through Friday. Snow will then push into the northern Rockies on Saturday. 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.