When most people think of weather observations, they picture ground-based stations, radar, or satellite imagery. But some of the most valuable information for weather models and forecasting doesn’t come from the surface, it comes from the upper atmosphere, where jet streams steer storms, tropical systems build strength, and long-range weather patterns take shape.
Collecting upper air data has traditionally been achieved through national meteorological agencies launching single-use weather balloons on a daily basis to provide soundings. These launches vary in number, location, and are short duration flights. While these are a valuable part of the Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise, it does leave an opportunity to collect data over longer periods of time and over more remote locations, such as oceans and polar regions.
That’s why we’re excited to share that Sorcerer, a long-endurance balloon network, is now part of the Synoptic platform. The Sorcerer network is a private reseller network, available through our Data Marketplace. They are the first data reseller on Synoptic to offer upper-air balloon observations, bringing a new dimension of atmospheric data to the platform. They are also providing data to NOAA via the National Mesonet Program (NMP).
Designed to stay aloft for up to six months and provide full radiosonde profiles per day, each balloon carries a suite of sensors that capture detailed profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, and other variables as they drift across the globe. With hundreds of launches per year around the world, the network provides a steady stream of upper-air data that fills gaps in the global observing system.
The impact of these observations is significant:
- Weather modeling: Upper-air data strengthens numerical weather prediction by improving the initial conditions models rely on, leading to more accurate forecasts.
- Operational forecasting: Forecasters gain real-time insights into the vertical structure of the atmosphere, not just surface conditions.
- Hurricane prediction: Sorcerer’s observations over oceans have already contributed to improved track forecasts, helping to anticipate the paths of high-impact storms.
- Global reach: Sorcerer balloons provide data over land, oceans, and even the poles. In addition to collecting data in current data deserts, the network also enables orders-of-magnitude more data than is currently available via the traditional infrastructure. This empowers users with a wealth of information for research, analyses, and decision-making.
By integrating Sorcerer’s network into the Synoptic platform, together, we’re helping bridge the gap between surface-based monitoring and the atmosphere above us. This creates opportunities for more reliable modeling, better forecasting, and stronger situational awareness where it matters most.
