Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems Launch Unified Open Global Weather—One of the Most Comprehensive Open Atmospheric Discovery Systems in the World
illi News/10340578

CASEY, Ill. - illiNews -- Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems (MSDS) today announced the public availability of Unified Open Global Weather (UOGW) (data set), one of the most comprehensive open multi-layer atmospheric discovery systems available in the world.

Curated by Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems, UOGW is among the very few platforms that simultaneously indexes and unifies ground, marine, upper-air, stratospheric, satellite, and first-party near-space high-altitude balloon observations — with independent daily automation, full provenance tracking, and public versioning — without claiming to replace the official systems of record. Access the full commons at the Data Hub: https://midwestsds.com/msds-data-hub.html

Unlike traditional weather portals that focus on a single agency or model output, UOGW functions as an open atmospheric commons. It maintains daily machine-readable indexes of major global sources including NOAA IGRA, GHCNd, NDBC, NASA GLOBE, SWOOSH, MERRA-2, and others, while integrating first-party data from MSDS's own high-altitude balloon program and its Casey, Illinois ground station (NASA GLOBE registration GO-4VW9B).

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"We built UOGW because the atmosphere does not stop at agency boundaries," said Jeremy D. Higgs, CEO of Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems. "By placing Midwest-made near-space flight data into the same open discovery layer as global radiosonde, buoy, satellite, and reanalysis products, we create a more complete picture for researchers, educators, and the public — while keeping full attribution and never claiming to replace the systems of record."

The system is versioned in Git, powered by independent GitHub Actions automations that continue to update even if the MSDS website is offline, and releases curated indexes and MSDS-native products under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Original agency licenses and preferred citations are preserved throughout.

UOGW currently indexes more than 25 major open data sources spanning six atmospheric layers and includes international holdings from services in Germany, Norway, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, India, China, and others. First-party X2Griffon high-altitude balloon profiles are scheduled to enter the commons following the maiden public launch planned for September 19, 2026, in Casey, Illinois.