💾 Exporting Data

SounderPy clean_data profiles can be exported for use outside the plotting API. The current file-writing helper supports:

• CSV;

• SHARPpy/NSHARP-style sounding files;

• CM1 input_sounding-style files.

Exports are created with:

spy.to_file(
    file_type,
    clean_data,
    filename=...,
)

---

Retrieve an Example Profile

import sounderpy as spy

data = spy.get_obs_data(
    "OAX",
    "2014", "06", "16", "18",
    hush=True,
)

---

CSV Export

CSV is useful for spreadsheets, pandas, R, or general data exchange.

spy.to_file(
    "csv",
    data,
    filename="oax_20140616_18z.csv",
)

The CSV contains the core sounding fields:

p
z
T
Td
u
v

Units are removed when the values are written, so retain the SounderPy variable definitions when using the file elsewhere:

Column	Variable	SounderPy unit
p	Pressure	hPa
z	Height	m
T	Temperature	degC
Td	Dewpoint	degC
u	U-component wind	knots
v	V-component wind	knots

---

SHARPpy Export

Export a SHARPpy-compatible sounding file with:

spy.to_file(
    "sharppy",
    data,
    filename="oax_20140616_18z.snd",
)

The file contains pressure, height, temperature, dewpoint, wind direction, and wind speed in the SHARPpy/NSHARP-style text format.

---

Read a SHARPpy File Back into SounderPy

SounderPy also provides from_sharppy():

data = spy.from_sharppy(
    "oax_20140616_18z.snd"
)

The imported file is converted back into a SounderPy-style dictionary.

Depending on the source file, additional site metadata or plot titles may need to be supplied before producing a fully annotated SounderPy figure.

---

CM1 Export

A SounderPy profile can be converted into CM1 input_sounding format:

spy.to_file(
    "cm1",
    data,
    filename="input_sounding",
)

The exporter derives the thermodynamic quantities used by CM1 and writes the profile in CM1 input format.

---

AGL Height Handling for CM1

The convert_to_AGL argument controls whether exported CM1 vertical heights are converted to above-ground-level values.

Default:

spy.to_file(
    "cm1",
    data,
    filename="input_sounding",
    convert_to_AGL=True,
)

To retain the profile’s existing height values:

spy.to_file(
    "cm1",
    data,
    filename="input_sounding",
    convert_to_AGL=False,
)

---

Default Filename

filename is optional in the Python API. If omitted, SounderPy uses its default output name:

spy.to_file(
    "csv",
    data,
)

For reproducible workflows, explicitly providing a filename is recommended.

---

CLI Export

The CLI can infer output format from recognized filename extensions.

CSV:

sounderpy obs OAX 2014-06-16 18 \
    --output oax.csv

SHARPpy:

sounderpy obs OAX 2014-06-16 18 \
    --output oax.snd

CM1:

sounderpy obs OAX 2014-06-16 18 \
    --output input_sounding.cm1

You can also specify the format explicitly:

sounderpy obs OAX 2014-06-16 18 \
    --output profile.dat \
    --format csv

---

Export and Plot in One CLI Command

The CLI retrieves the profile once and can use the result for several outputs:

sounderpy obs OAX 2014-06-16 18 \
    --output oax.csv \
    --plot sounding \
    --map-zoom 0 \
    --plot-file oax.png

---

Choosing an Export Format

Use CSV when:

• you want a simple tabular file;

• you plan to use pandas, spreadsheets, R, or another analysis tool.

Use SHARPpy when:

• you want a conventional sounding-text format;

• you want compatibility with SHARPpy-style workflows.

Use CM1 when:

• you are preparing an idealized CM1 simulation;

• you want to turn a retrieved or observed SounderPy profile into model input.

---

Next Steps

Continue to Command Line Workflows for shell-based retrieval, plotting, JSON, and batch examples.

See also:

• Helper Tools

• Command Line Tool