Datasets > Pennsylvania--Allegheny County > 2025-present

Air Temperature Inversions

Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center Open Data · 2026 Full Details

Full Details

Title
Air Temperature Inversions
Description
This dataset contains the daily morning surface temperature inversion reports for the Pittsburgh, PA area. A temperature inversion occurs when the temperature increases with height as opposed to decreasing with height. Temperature inversions are common during the evening, nighttime, and morning hours. These inversions can sometimes result in poor air quality posing health risks especially for those who are immuno-compromised. To determine whether a surface temperature inversion is present, one must analyze a vertical profile of the atmosphere. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Pittsburgh launches a weather balloon every morning to collect this data. The data are released publicly, and the data is then programmatically analyzed by the Air Quality division of the Allegheny County Health Department. Sometimes, the weather balloon launch does not happen. Most of the time this occurs because the NWS in Pittsburgh has a helium shortage. If this occurs, then the measured fields (`temperature_c`, `depth_m`, and `strength`) are assigned null values, and the reason why is put in the `notes` field.
Creator
Allegheny County
Publisher
Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center Open Data
Temporal Coverage
Last Modified: 2026-03-28
Date Issued
2026-01-08
Rights
Creative Commons CCZero
License
http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-zero
Access Rights
Public
Language
English
Date Added
March 31, 2026
Provenance Statement
The metadata for this resource was last retrieved from Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center Open Data on 2026-03-30.

Location

Links

Cite and Reference

  • Citation
    Allegheny County (2026). Air Temperature Inversions. Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center Open Data. https://data.wprdc.org/dataset/air-temperature-inversions (dataset)
  • BTAA Geoportal Link

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