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500 mb Heights and Winds
upper air data


Latest 500mb Surface

This panel shows the latest 500 mb fields for geopotential height, wind speed (isotachs), and wind vectors. 500 mb charts depict conditions in the middle troposphere (roughly 5000 meters).

Geopotential height approximates the actual height of a pressure surface above mean sea-level and is represented by the solid white contours. The geopotential height field is given in meters with an interval of 60 meters between height lines. The 500 mb height field encircling the globe consists of a series of troughs and ridges, which are the upper air counterparts of surface cyclones and anticyclones. The distance from trough to trough (or ridge to ridge) is known as a long wave. Embedded within the long waves are short waves, which are smaller disturbances often responsible for triggering surface cyclone development.

Wind vectors provide information about wind direction and wind speed and are drawn here as tiny red arrows. Wind vectors point towards the direction in which the wind is blowing and the longer the wind vector, the stronger the wind. The unit of magnitude for wind speed as depicted by the wind vectors is meters per second.


Terms for using data resources. CD-ROM available.
Credits and Acknowledgments for WW2010.
Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.