sounding

A plot of the vertical profile of temperature and dew point (and often winds) above a fixed location, (see picture)Soundings are used extensively in severe weather forecasting, e.g., to determine instability , locate temperature inversions , measure the strength of the cap , obtain the convective temperature , etc.

[Slang], a sounding characterized by extreme instability but containing a cap , such that explosive thunderstorm development can be expected if the cap can be weakened or the air below it heated sufficiently to overcome it. See