Vädedata

Vädedata, or weather data, refers to measurements and observations describing the atmosphere at a specific time and location. It includes variables such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, precipitation, cloud cover, visibility, and solar radiation. Vädedata are collected by a range of observing systems and form the backbone of weather forecasting, warnings, and climate monitoring.

Observing systems include ground-based meteorological stations, weather radars, radiosondes, ships and buoys, aircraft observations, and satellite sensors. Observations are stored as time series or gridded fields and are exchanged through standardized formats. Quality control and data assimilation processes are applied to prepare data for numerical weather prediction models and for historical climate records.

Data sources are managed by national meteorological services and international organizations. In Sweden, for example, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute provides Vädedata for weather services. Internationally, data are shared under WMO guidelines and distributed via systems such as netCDF, GRIB, and BUFR. Many datasets are publicly accessible.

Applications of Vädedata include short-term forecasts and nowcasting, aviation routing and safety, agriculture planning, energy management, flood and drought alerts, and long-term climate research. Ongoing challenges include data coverage gaps, especially over oceans and remote regions, sensor calibration, latency, and data licensing, as well as integrating new data streams from satellites and citizen science.