upper-air observation


upper-air observation

[¦əp·ər ¦er ‚äb·zər‚vā·shən] (meteorology) A measurement of atmospheric conditions aloft, above the effective range of a surface weather observation. Also known as sounding; upper-air sounding.

upper-air observation

A measurement of atmospheric conditions aloft, above the effective range of a surface weather observation. Also called sounding and upper-air sounding. This is a general term, but it is usually applied to those observations used in the analysis of upper-air charts (as opposed to measurements of upper-atmospheric quantities primarily for research).