AVAPS Dropsonde Profiles from Atlantic Coast Snowstorm Campaign

Vertical atmospheric profiles were collected by dropsondes released from a NASA P-3 aircraft during the IMPACTS field campaign. The three-year study from 2020 to 2023 targeted snowstorms along the U.S. Atlantic Coast to understand snowband formation and improve snowfall prediction. Data includes measurements of temperature, humidity, wind, pressure, and location during each dropsonde's descent.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical wind speed and direction profiles to study storm dynamics.
• Correlating temperature and humidity measurements with snowband formation mechanisms.
• Using pressure and GPS location data to create 3D atmospheric state models for specific storm events.
• Studying the variation of microphysical characteristics across different snowbands.
• Validating and improving numerical weather prediction models for Atlantic Coast snowstorms.

Strengths

• Data covers a multi-year campaign with a specific temporal range from January 12, 2020, through February 28, 2023.
• Measurements include core atmospheric state parameters: temperature, humidity, wind speed/direction, pressure, and 3D location.
• The dataset originates from a targeted NASA field campaign (IMPACTS) with clear scientific objectives.

Limitations

• The exact row count and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.
• Sources disagree on the last updated date, with one listing 2026-03-13 and another 2023-02 28.
• Column names and a precise data collection method beyond 'dropsondes' are not specified.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements collected by GPS dropsondes released from the NASA P-3 aircraft.

Time Range

2020-01-12 to 2023-02-28

Freshness

2026-03-13 16:12:22.911348

Geography

U.S. Atlantic Coast region