How Are Radiosonde Data Used?
Understanding and accurately predicting changes in the atmosphere requires adequate observations of the upper atmosphere. Radiosonde observations are the primary source of upper-air data and will remain so into the foreseeable future. Radiosonde observations are used over a broad spectrum of efforts including: • Input for computer-based weather prediction models, • Local severe storm, aviation, and marine forecasts, • Weather and climate change research, • Input for air pollution research, and • Ground truth for satellite data. Improvements in the radiosondes are coming. The National Weather Service is in the process of replacing the current radiosondes with new versions that use a Global Positioning System to track the flight. Improvements in these observations will include: • Requiring less operator interaction and maintenance, • Providing complete high-resolution information to users, • Providing consistent and accurate measurement of surface weather parameters at the point of ballo
