District of ColumbiaSite status

Severe weather analysis

Observations and analyses of the atmosphere now, from NWS, WPC and SPC. Not a forecast and not a warning: for those, see the Briefing and the Live tracker.

SPC soundings: feeds current

SPC soundings: Feed current; checked .

Checked means retrieved, not newly issued. Each graphic retains its issue, observation, initialization or valid time. Site publishing status is separate.

Soundings: what weather balloons measured

SPC’s skew-T diagram and hodograph of the sounding at Sterling, VA (IAD), 12Z. Its levels are in the table below.
Observed Sounding at Sterling, VA (IAD), for (16 h 34 min ago). SPC’s graphic; the values in its panels (CAPE, shear, the indices) are SPC’s computations from these levels. Data: NOAA/SPC.

A balloon launched about an hour before the time named, measuring as it rose and drifted with the wind: the atmosphere above one place, at one time. Model soundings, which are forecasts, are not shown here.

The levels this sounding was drawn from (55)
Sterling, VA (IAD): the surface first, then up through the atmosphere. Temperature and dew point in °C, as measured.
PressureHeightTemperatureDew pointWind
1003 mb93 m17.016.5180° 9 kt
1000 mb117 m16.416.0185° 9 kt
978 mb305 m15.215.2200° 12 kt
950 mb553 m14.414.4—
933 mb707 m19.017.5—
925 mb781 m19.817.7245° 22 kt
914 mb885 m21.017.4—
902 mb1000 m21.416.8—
889 mb1126 m20.815.9—
870 mb1313 m19.414.8—
857 mb1443 m18.612.6—
850 mb1513 m18.68.6275° 31 kt
819 mb1829 m15.713.2260° 33 kt
790 mb2134 m14.111.5260° 33 kt
765 mb2408 m12.410.0—
735 mb2743 m10.19.1250° 27 kt
719 mb2926 m8.88.6—
709 mb3048 m8.17.6235° 28 kt
700 mb3148 m7.66.7245° 33 kt
669 mb3521 m5.84.6—
658 mb3658 m5.13.3245° 31 kt
634 mb3962 m3.11.3250° 31 kt
610 mb4267 m1.0-0.3240° 33 kt
590 mb4538 m-0.3-3.7—
565 mb4877 m-2.9-5.9240° 32 kt
539 mb5253 m-6.5-7.1—
529 mb5400 m-6.7-10.7—
500 mb5840 m-7.5-18.5235° 40 kt
487 mb6045 m-9.5-17.5—
472 mb6287 m-8.7-35.7—
447 mb6706 m-11.8-33.3250° 41 kt
428 mb7039 m-14.1-39.1—
400 mb7550 m-17.9-38.9240° 42 kt
389 mb7758 m-17.5-44.5—
370 mb8132 m-18.9-49.9—
339 mb8778 m-24.3-45.3—
322 mb9144 m-26.4-55.0240° 57 kt
302 mb9612 m-29.1-59.1—
300 mb9660 m-29.1-59.1250° 56 kt
250 mb10930 m-40.3-61.3250° 54 kt
239 mb11234 m-43.1-60.1—
218 mb11847 m-47.7-69.7—
200 mb12410 m-51.3-72.3270° 57 kt
187 mb12835 m-54.6-73.0265° 60 kt
158 mb13902 m-62.9-74.9—
150 mb14220 m-65.1-78.1280° 55 kt
139 mb14681 m-67.7-80.7—
127 mb15240 m-71.3-82.4270° 52 kt
105 mb16335 m-74.3-85.3275° 36 kt
100 mb16620 m-73.3-85.3255° 39 kt
87 mb17416 m-69.5-86.5—
72 mb18562 m-69.5-88.0285° 19 kt
62 mb19484 m-67.3-90.3—
51 mb20661 m-64.9-88.9—
42 mb21828 m-61.5-88.5—
Every station with a sounding (78)

SPC observed soundings checked · Data: NOAA/SPC

District of Columbia briefing

Not an official warning service. Warnings and watches are the National Weather Service’s, outlooks and reports the Storm Prediction Center’s and the Weather Prediction Center’s (Data: NOAA/NWS, NOAA/SPC, NOAA/WPC). When a warning is issued for you, act on it, and use weather.gov or a NOAA Weather Radio for where you are.