FIRE Cirrus II Rawinsonde Data from 31 National Weather Service Stations

NASA's First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Cirrus Phase II dataset contains rawinsonde observations from 31 National Weather Service stations across the United States. Data was collected from November 20 to December 7, 1991, to study cirrus cloud life cycles and properties. This coordinated field campaign combined surface, airborne, and satellite observations to improve cloud parameterizations in climate models.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived cloud property retrievals against in-situ atmospheric profiles.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and wind to characterize conditions during cirrus cloud events.
• Improving the representation of cirrus cloud formation and radiative effects in climate models.
• Studying spatial variability of atmospheric state variables across 31 U.S. stations over an 18-day period.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated, multi-platform NASA field experiment designed for model validation.
• Provides atmospheric profiles from 31 distinct National Weather Service stations, offering geographic diversity.
• Covers a focused 18-day intensive observation period (Nov 20 - Dec 7, 1991) for detailed process studies.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13, while NASA Earthdata lists 1991-12-07.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Coordinated field campaign collecting rawinsonde data from National Weather Service stations.

Time Range

1991-11 20 to 1991-12-07

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:45:32.507266

Geography

31 stations across the continental United States, from North Dakota to Texas and California to West Virginia.