NOAA Profiler Network (NPN) Vertical Wind Profile Data

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2021-05-05T00:00:00.000+00:00

The NOAA Profiler Network (NPN) radars provide vertical profiles of horizontal wind speed and direction from near the surface to above the tropopause. The system also generates data quality related statistics such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spectrum width. There are three systems in Alaska (Talkeetna, Anchorage, and Homer), with an additional testbed site in Norman, OK. The location and ICAO ID for the NOAA NPN sites are: Norman, OK - ROCO2/KROC; Homer, AK - HWPA2/KHWP; Talkeetna, AK - TLKA2/KTLK; and Anchorage, AK - AWPA2/KAWP. Each wind profiler unit uses preprogrammed operational modes to determine the speed and direction of the wind at different heights directly above the unmanned radar site. This dataset covers the newly refreshed NPN upper air wind data, beginning with 2020. A previous NPN project covered 1991 - 2006 and is available in BUFR format for winds, moments, RASS, and surface file types.

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Complete Metadata

describedByType	application/octet-steam
identifier	gov.noaa.ncdc:C01627
issued	2021-05-05T00:00:00.000+00:00
language	[]
references	[ "https://www.roc.noaa.gov/WSR88D/PublicDocs/ENG/2620074%20NPN%20to%20Class%201%20User%20ICD%20Bld%204.0.pdf", "https://www.roc.noaa.gov/WSR88D/Engineering/WindProfiler/WindProfiler.aspx" ]
rights	otherRestrictions
spatial	-97.4,35.2,-151.5,62.3
temporal	2019-05-20T00:00:00+00:00/2024-07-10T00:00:00+00:00

Location