SCPA Balloon Data & Interpolated Soundings Information Page

Discussion
Updated 6/2005

The VGB Balloon Page is not a forecast.  It is data from one balloon that went up from Vandenberg before sunrise.  The data is subject to the local meteorology of the release site which is different than the South Coast.  If the data is current you will see an inversion close to the ground that will probably break up with surface heating.

Always check the date and time at the top of the page.  Data is taken from balloon soundings that go up at 12Z (4am PST) and 00Z (4pm PST).  The program runs in the morning and retrieves whatever data is posted.  If the data is current it will display today's date and 12Z.  If it says 00Z then it's old data from an afternoon sounding.  There won't be a morning inversion in the afternoon so if you don't see an inversion check the time before you get excited.  It's not uncommon for new data to be unavailable so check the date and time religiously.

Data Interpolation:  The Graphs for some of the sites like SB and Pine are not actual data, but an interpolation based on numerous sources including balloons.  The interpolation models assume there is a uniform gradient in the zones between real data points, but in reality the air masses have boundaries and discontinuities, so some days they will reflect reality better than others.  The interpolated pages list both history and forecast.  Historical interpolated data is listed as analysis, and the forecast is called forecast.  There is a set of graphs for each hour from 1200Z through 2100Z.  The program runs once an hour to update the forecast and replace old forecast graph sets with analysis (interpolated data) as time passes.  The page will start over the next morning.

The Middle Graph was the Lapse Rate (the derivative or rate of change).  An average day is 3.5°F per 1,000 feet.  More is usually better unless the air is too wet, then it might OD or rain.

The Right Graph was the wind.  The red line was the velocity.  Note the velocity scale will change from day to day.  The data was the direction the wind was coming from followed by @ velocity.

Balloon data for other locations can be found at:
http://topaflyers.com/weather/weatherlinks.html or
http://topaflyers.com/weather/soundings
The home page for the above links is 
http://topaflyers.com

The Topa Flyers site runs on Don Taber's computer.
498-2447  Don's home number
373-4229  Don's work number

The Script Program was written by Fred Vachss
(805) 492-6342  Fred and Katherine's home number
(818) 586-3373  Fred's work number