Sonde Predict v5.1.0

Windows 10/11: SondePredict-windows-x64-setup.exe (installer) or SondePredict-windows-x64.zip (unzip and run sondepredict.exe).
Linux: SondePredict-x86_64.AppImage — chmod +x it and run it.

Project page: https://oh2gba.github.io/SondePredict/ · User manual (PDF)

What's new in 5.1

Better winds

• In the Nordic countries and the Baltic: MET Norway's MEPS (2.5 km, 65 model levels, up to 66 h ahead) averaged with ECMWF — better than either alone at every lead time against FMI soundings, and on real landings (median 8.5 km vs 10.0 km with MEPS alone).
• Elsewhere and further ahead: ECMWF (now the default global model). If MEPS is unavailable, or the Open-Meteo quota is used up, it falls back by itself.

A flight model checked against real flights

• Balloon defaults from hundreds of Jokioinen flights on SondeHub (ascent 4.9 m/s, burst 34.3 km, descent 11.7 m/s), and the measured ascent shape: slower around the tropopause, faster high up.
• Typical values for 320 launch sites, fetched from their last 30 days of flights; descents measured on their own tracks for 22 stations around the Baltic and the North Sea (SondeHub's averages can be far off, e.g. parachute stations).
• On 45 real Jokioinen flights the median landing error went from 13.7 km to 8.8 km.

A landing area you can trust

• The landing area now includes forecast uncertainty, growing with lead time and for slow parachute descents. Calibrated on real flights from four stations: about 95 % of landings fall inside the 95 % area.

Everyday use

• Batches over several launch sites, each with its own launch times and balloon values.
• Activity tab (and sp-cli --verbose): which model and run, downloads, waits, each pass.
• 2D map, 3D view and profile of several predictions together, with their winds.
• Update check: shows when a new version is out.
• Restore Defaults, network settings under General, and many smaller fixes.

How all this was measured: tools/validation.

Sonde Predict v5.0.1

Windows 10/11: SondePredict-windows-x64-setup.exe (installer) or SondePredict-windows-x64.zip (unzip and run sondepredict.exe).
Linux: SondePredict-x86_64.AppImage — chmod +x it and run it.

See the user manual for installing and using Sonde Predict.

Sonde Predict v5.0.0

Windows 10/11: SondePredict-windows-x64-setup.exe (installer) or SondePredict-windows-x64.zip (unzip and run sondepredict.exe).
Linux: SondePredict-x86_64.AppImage — chmod +x it and run it.

See the user manual for installing and using Sonde Predict.