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Dangerous Cold Weather for Most of the Country; Rare Winter Storm for the South; Fire Weather Concerns for Southern California

Arctic air will filter south and east through early this week. As this cold air moves across the South, a rare winter storm is forecast to develop from Texas, Gulf Coast States into the Southeast through early this week. Several new daily record low temperatures are expected, including new record-low maximum temperatures. For Southern California, fire weather concerns increase this week. 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.