Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content
  • Feedback

    • Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA), Version 2

    Metadata Updated: September 19, 2023

    Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA) Version 2 consists of quality-controlled radiosonde observations of temperature, humidity, and wind at stations across all continents. Data are drawn from more than 30 different sources. The earliest year of data is 1905, and the data are updated on a daily basis. Record length, vertical extent and resolution, and availability of variables varies among stations and over time. In addition to the merged and quality-controlled set of soundings, several supplementary products are included: sounding-derived moisture and stability parameters for each suitable sounding; monthly means at mandatory pressure levels; the Radiosonde Atmospheric Temperature Products for Assessing Climate (RATPAC) in which post-1997 data are based on IGRA 2; and station history information derived from documented changes in instruments and observing practice as well as from instrument codes received along with the sounding data. The change to Version 2.2 includes two additional data streams which permits further updating of the IGRA data records that use the new BUFR format. Version 2.2 began in 2023.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date June 23, 2023
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2023
    Reference Date(s) February 1, 2023 (revision), August 1, 2016 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update daily

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from ncdc

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Upper air balloon

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date June 23, 2023
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2023
    Reference Date(s) February 1, 2023 (revision), August 1, 2016 (publication)
    Responsible Party DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.ncdc:C00975
    Access Constraints Cite as: Durre, Imke; Yin, Xungang; Vose, Russell S.; Applequist, Scott; Arnfield, Jeff; Korzeniewski, Bryant; Hundermark, Bruce. (2016) Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA), Version 2. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. DOI:10.7289/V5X63K0Q [access date]., Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long 180.0
    Bbox North Lat 90.0
    Bbox South Lat -90.0
    Bbox West Long -180.0
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update daily
    Graphic Preview Description Upper air balloon
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/metadata/images/C00975-8.png
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id eea1c341-8ea7-4e32-aa43-be27f4326ac9
    Harvest Source Id 2cb3ef77-1683-4c2a-9119-dc65e50917c6
    Harvest Source Title ncdc
    Licence Data have not been adjusted for inhomogeneities due to station relocation, equipment changes, or changes in observing practice. NCEI scientists have applied a comprehensive set of quality control procedures to the data to remove gross errors. However, they did not attempt to remove jumps and other discontinuities caused by changes in instrumentation, observing practice, or station ___location. Users studying long-term trends may wish to use the NOAA Radiosonde Atmospheric Temperature Products for Assessing Climate (RATPAC) or one of the available non-NOAA IGRA-derived, homogeneity-adjusted radiosonde datasets.
    Lineage Various data sources contribute to IGRA 2, along with several sources of metadata. The level of knowledge about each individual data source varies depending on the documentation and metadata that were provided along with the data. All data included in IGRA 2 were required to have adequate documentation of their digital format. Only observed values were included; estimated values were not. All stations included in IGRA 2 were required to be identified by either a known station identifier or by a station name, coordinates, and elevation. The data processing applied to the sources in order to create IGRA 2 are described in the Dataset Description Document.
    Metadata Language eng; USA
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, -90.0], [180.0, -90.0], [180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, -90.0]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 1905-01-01

    Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.