Retrieve interpolated forecast sounding data (vertical atmospheric profiles) for a specific geographic coordinate. This endpoint provides predicted temperature, humidity, and wind data at multiple pressure levels, suitable for generating Skew-T diagrams and atmospheric analysis.
This endpoint is available for the same forecast hours that contain upper-level variables. See the Variables and Gridded Forecast endpoints for more details.
A model parameter must be provided to specify which weather model's forecast to retrieve. Only models with upper-level atmospheric variables are supported.
WM‑5c valid time
For WM‑5c, the valid time of a forecast is forecast_zero + forecast_hour , NOT initialization_time + forecast_hour .
WM‑5c runs every 20 minutes (initialization_time), but valid times stay on a fixed 3‑hourly cycle (forecast_zero). Multiple runs can share the same forecast_zero as later runs assimilate newer observations while keeping valid times stable.
Alternatively, you can use the time or valid_at (NetCDF/ZARR) parameter to request or use forecast data by valid time directly.
See Time in Forecasts for full details.
| Name | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| coordinates Required | A single latitude,longitude coordinate for the sounding location. | lat,lon |
| time Required | The time at which the forecast is valid. Alternatively, you can specify initialization_time and forecast_hour. This looks solely at the date and the hour; minutes and seconds are discarded. | YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ |
| initialization_time Alternative | The initialization time for the forecast. Must be used with forecast_hour. Cannot be used with time. Uses only date, hour and minutes. Seconds are discarded. | YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ |
| forecast_hour Alternative | Hours from the initialization_time for which to get the forecast. Must be used with initialization_time. Cannot be used with time. If initialization_time is 2023-01-01T00:00:00 and forecast_hour is 6, the forecast will be for 2023-01-01T06:00:00. | integer |
| Name | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| coordinates Required | A single latitude,longitude coordinate for the sounding location. | lat,lon |
| time Required | The time at which the forecast is valid. Alternatively, you can specify initialization_time and forecast_hour. This looks solely at the date and the hour; minutes and seconds are discarded. | YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ |
| initialization_time Alternative | The initialization time for the forecast. Must be used with forecast_hour. Cannot be used with time. Uses only date, hour and minutes. Seconds are discarded. | YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ |
| forecast_hour Alternative | Hours from the initialization_time for which to get the forecast. Must be used with initialization_time. Cannot be used with time. If initialization_time is 2023-01-01T00:00:00 and forecast_hour is 6, the forecast will be for 2023-01-01T06:00:00. | integer |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| coordinates Required | string | A single latitude,longitude coordinate. e.g., 40.7,-74.0 |
| -m, --model Required | string | The model to use for the sounding. e.g., wm-5c or wm-4 |
| -t, --time Required | string | The time at which the forecast is valid. Alternatively, use --init-time and --forecast-hour. |
| -i, --init-time Alternative | string | The initialization time for the forecast. Must be used with --forecast-hour. |
| -fh, --forecast-hour Alternative | number | Hours from the initialization_time for which to get the forecast. |
| output_file Optional | string | The file to which the response will be written. If not provided, the response is printed to stdout. |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| coordinates Required | string | A single latitude,longitude coordinate. e.g., 40.7,-74.0 |
| -m, --model Required | string | The model to use for the sounding. e.g., wm-5c or wm-4 |
| -t, --time Required | string | The time at which the forecast is valid. Alternatively, use --init-time and --forecast-hour. |
| -i, --init-time Alternative | string | The initialization time for the forecast. Must be used with --forecast-hour. |
| -fh, --forecast-hour Alternative | number | Hours from the initialization_time for which to get the forecast. |
| output_file Optional | string | The file to which the response will be written. If not provided, the response is printed to stdout. |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| coordinates | string or tuple | A single coordinate. Provide as a (lat, lon) tuple, e.g., (40.7, -74.0), or a string, e.g., "40.7,-74.0" |
| model | string | The model to use for the sounding. e.g., "wm-5c" or "wm-4" |
| time | string | The time at which the forecast is valid. Alternatively, use initialization_time and forecast_hour. |
| initialization_time | string | The initialization time for the forecast. Must be used with forecast_hour. |
| forecast_hour | number | Hours from the initialization_time for which to get the forecast. |
| output_file | string | If provided, the response data will be saved to this file. File extension determines format: .csv or .json |
| print_response | boolean | If true, the response data will be printed to stdout. Default: false |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| coordinates | string or tuple | A single coordinate. Provide as a (lat, lon) tuple, e.g., (40.7, -74.0), or a string, e.g., "40.7,-74.0" |
| model | string | The model to use for the sounding. e.g., "wm-5c" or "wm-4" |
| time | string | The time at which the forecast is valid. Alternatively, use initialization_time and forecast_hour. |
| initialization_time | string | The initialization time for the forecast. Must be used with forecast_hour. |
| forecast_hour | number | Hours from the initialization_time for which to get the forecast. |
| output_file | string | If provided, the response data will be saved to this file. File extension determines format: .csv or .json |
| print_response | boolean | If true, the response data will be printed to stdout. Default: false |
Returns interpolated forecast sounding data with atmospheric measurements at different pressure levels.
| Name | Type | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| initialization_time | string | Forecast initialization time | ISO 8601 |
| forecast_zero | string | Time at which the forecast starts | ISO 8601 |
| time | string | Valid forecast time | ISO 8601 |
| forecast_hour | numeric | Forecast hour Hours since forecast zero. Valid time = forecast_zero + forecast_hour. | hours |
| latitude | numeric | Sounding location latitude | degrees |
| longitude | numeric | Sounding location longitude | degrees |
| data | array | Atmospheric data at different pressure levels | - |
| pressure_hpa | numeric | Atmospheric pressure | hectopascals |
| altitude_m | numeric | Altitude above mean sea level Calculated from geopotential height | meters |
| temperature_c | numeric | Air temperature | °C |
| dewpoint_c | numeric | Dewpoint temperature Calculated from temperature and specific humidity | °C |
| specific_humidity_kg_kg | numeric | Specific humidity | kg/kg |
| wind_u_ms | numeric | Eastward wind component Direction of increasing longitude | m/s |
| wind_v_ms | numeric | Northward wind component Direction of increasing latitude | m/s |
| Name | Type | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| initialization_time | string | Forecast initialization time | ISO 8601 |
| forecast_zero | string | Time at which the forecast starts | ISO 8601 |
| time | string | Valid forecast time | ISO 8601 |
| forecast_hour | numeric | Forecast hour Hours since forecast zero. Valid time = forecast_zero + forecast_hour. | hours |
| latitude | numeric | Sounding location latitude | degrees |
| longitude | numeric | Sounding location longitude | degrees |
| data | array | Atmospheric data at different pressure levels | - |
| pressure_hpa | numeric | Atmospheric pressure | hectopascals |
| altitude_m | numeric | Altitude above mean sea level Calculated from geopotential height | meters |
| temperature_c | numeric | Air temperature | °C |
| dewpoint_c | numeric | Dewpoint temperature Calculated from temperature and specific humidity | °C |
| specific_humidity_kg_kg | numeric | Specific humidity | kg/kg |
| wind_u_ms | numeric | Eastward wind component Direction of increasing longitude | m/s |
| wind_v_ms | numeric | Northward wind component Direction of increasing latitude | m/s |