UOGW: An Open Multi-Layer Atmospheric Data Commons Developed under Aerostratospheric

We present the Unified Open Global Weather (UOGW) system, an open, versioned, multi-layer atmospheric data commons developed and curated by Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems (MSDS) under the Aerostratospheric Illinois nonprofit corporation. UOGW aggregates surface observations, marine buoy samples, upper-air indexes, stratospheric and satellite catalog resources, and first-party near-space flight products into a single machine-readable catalog supported by independent daily GitHub Actions automations, reproducible science packages, multi-method anomaly screening, and automated visual analytics.

As of the 10 August 2026 snapshot the catalog indexes 25 datasets across six atmospheric layers, 2,931 IGRA stations, 1,936 NDBC stations, and 132,501 GHCN stations, together with daily Open-Meteo city samples (n ≈ 32–34) and continuous ground observations from the MSDS Casey, Illinois site (NASA GLOBE registration GO-4VW9B). We report surface temperature statistics (global city mean 23.79 °C, range 3.6–41.2 °C), local diurnal structure at Casey, anomaly detection results (1 Alert and 3 Watch events driven primarily by extreme heat), and a research-only pre-tornado composite screening for Clark County, Illinois that reached a score of 85 under extreme CAPE (≈ 3910 J kg⁻¹).

All products carry explicit research-only disclaimers and full upstream attribution. UOGW is designed for rapid public reuse, citizen-science integration, educational applications, and future incorporation of X2Griffon high-altitude balloon vertical profiles (maiden science flight scheduled 19 September 2026). The complete repository, daily JSON packages, chart gallery, and status endpoints are openly available. This paper details system architecture, methods, observational results, extensive data-credit requirements, FAIR alignment, limitations, and research applications.