An Introduction to Aircraft Weather Data for Private Sector Meteorologists

The National Weather Service and many commercial airlines have enjoyed a long partnership to share aircraft meteorological data that has resulted in improved weather forecasts and warnings. A recent agreement now permits the use of some of these data by private sector meteorologists, who will likely find many new applications of this data set. The data now publicly available are from 135 aircraft owned by Southwest and United Parcel Service airlines. These aircraft provide almost 1000 soundings each day from airports in the United States and several other countries. 

The authors will present a short history of aircraft data, including how they are collected, transmitted and used by airlines, the NWS, and other national meteorological centers. Data retrieval options will also be discussed; including a web based sounding display that is being developed.