NEWS:

Feb 16, 2021
- Problems getting data from National Weather Service began on Feb 11 impacting operation of the Soaring Predictor software.
The service seems to be working again at about 75% as of this morning, Feb 16.


Backup data is being sourced from WeatherAPI.com however, their free service is limited to 3 days. If you see a three day forecast for your favorite site, thank the WeatherAPI folks. The full 5-day forecasts are receiving input data from the National Weather service (thank them too :-).

Sounding

Station:

KTUS (alt)

Date/Time:

5 DEC 2023

Temp/Wind data from:

NOAA Digital Forecast
Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Site
Name
Wind Above
Launch
Wind Above
Launch
Wind Above
Launch
Wind Above
Launch
Wind Above
Launch
Wind Above
Launch
South Mountain E 5 5466 ENE 4 3700 E 3 2554
Oatman Mt NE 12 0 ENE 9 0 SW 6 0 NW 11 0 NE 13 0 NNE 8 0
Shaw Butte E 9 0 E 9 0 S 5 0 WSW 9 0 NE 9 0 NE 5 0
The Y NE 18 1346 ESE 14 958 SSW 11 0 WNW 14 0 NNE 12 0 NNE 11 0
Phoenix Regional E 8 0 ESE 5 0 W 5 0 WNW 10 0 NNE 10 0 NE 5 0
Humbolt N 13 622 NNW 11 223 SSW 9 0 WSW 10 0 NNE 11 0 NNE 8 0
Miller Canyon SE 12 271 S 10 3730 W 16 4088 W 18 595 NE 10 0 NNE 9 271
Box Canyon SE 17 5194 SE 13 5878 W 13 5194 W 16 1807 ENE 11 0 NNE 11 1238
Mustang Mountain E 17 2067 E 10 4250 W 14 5101 W 18 1510 E 11 0 NE 11 1285
Whetstone Mountain E 18 1893 E 14 2612 W 16 3293 W 20 1383 E 12 0 NNE 11 0
Mt Lemmon SE 6 19808 E 6 19990 WSW 6 16792
A Mountain ESE 13 4486 SE 13 4486 WNW 8 2724 WNW 12 1272 NE 9 986 N 8 1116
Rainbow Valley E 8 0 E 8 0 WSW 5 0 W 10 0 NE 11 0 ENE 5 0
Pinal Peak ENE 18 0 ENE 16 0 SW 10 0 W 13 0 NE 13 0 ENE 10 0
Harquahala N 4 6925 SE 7 6925 SSW 8 5408
El Tiro Gliderport ESE 10 1564 SSE 10 1564 W 6 1129 WNW 11 56 NNE 10 0 N 6 0
Mt Ord NE 18 227 E 18 0 SSW 12 0 WSW 13 0 NE 12 0 NE 9 0

DISCLAIMER: These estimates are intended to assist in daily site selection only.  No warranty is made concerning the accuracy of these estimates.  These estimates cannot be used to determine if conditions are safe for flying.  Conditions should be evaluated at the launch site by experienced pilots before launching.

Sounding: This is the site at which the weather balloon was released.  If the flying site predicted is far from the sounding site, the estimate is not valid.  Also, the sounding is done at 12Z (4AM PST).  If a front comes through, the sounding is no longer valid. The sounding becomes less valid later in the day.

Thermal Ceiling: the lower of the height at which the thermal stops rising and the cloud level.  We can't fly into the clouds, so it doesn't matter how much higher the thermal goes.  Remember that we can't get to the top of the thermal because of our sink rate.  Our upper limit will be lower than the reported ceiling.

Soaring Ceiling: We will stop going up when the thermal is rising just fast enough to offset our sink.  It is estimated that this happens when the temperature difference between the thermal and the surrounding air is about 2 degrees F. This number is an estimate of the maximum altitude we might reach if we start at launch height, and should be more reflective of our chances of soaring than the thermal top. Please let me know how this compares with actually flying, and I will adjust it as necessary.

Above Launch: The difference between how high we might get and how high we start. This estimate does not account for ridge lift.

High Temp: This estimate is taken from the National Weather Service or WeatherAPI.com website.  Puddle temperatures can exceed this temperature. 

Puddle Temp: This estimate is based on the High Temp and the National Weather Service or WeatherAPI.com estimate of cloudiness, and the angle of the sun.  When the sun is directly overhead on a sunny day, the puddle temp is esimated to be 25 degrees warmer than the high ambient temperature. This estimate now includes a rigorous calculation of the Sun Angle, and accounts for the seasonal differences in zenith and daylight hours.

Wind: This estimate is taken from the National Weather Service or WeatherAPI.com website.

Wind Gust: This estimate is taken from the National Weather Service or WeatherAPI.com website.

Thermal Type: Blue (no cloud formation) or White (Cloud formation)

Thermal Index: This is the maximum difference in temperature between the rising packet of air (the thermal) and the surrounding air.  The difference in temperature is responsible for the buoyancy of the thermal, and larger temperature differences mean faster rising thermals.  A value of about 10 F or greater often means that the conditions are soarable.  Values above 20 could indicate rowdy thermals.

Validity of estimate: Many factors (including strong wind, fronts, cloud shadows, incorrectly predicted temperatures, etc) can affect the validity of the estimates. 

Author: Tad Hurst

Supported By: Alan Crouse [email protected]