The NOAA Council on Long-term Climate Monitoring has concluded that over the short-term, radiosonde dual flights should be supported over an annual cycle. NWS, in response to this request, is actively planning a field comparison of the new Radiosonde Replacement System Global Positioning System-type radiosondes with the current Radio-direction finding-type radiosondes in use at over 92 locations. Drs. Tom Petersen and Imke Durre from the National Climatic Data Center under Dr. Tom Karl, have prepared a comprehensive document on the requirements for such a study. A brief overview of the report to the Council will be presented, followed by NWS� current plans for the conduct of the data continuity study. An introduction to plans on the use of a reference radiosonde to perform this function will be discussed in preparation for later discussions between NCAR, NASA, and NOAA on how to conduct these intercomparisons in the future.