A method for obtaining high-resolution, temperature dependent absorption cross sections in the ultraviolet and visible regions is described. The technique combines a Fourier transform spectrometer with a supersonic jet expansion for sample preparation. Infrared spectroscopy is used to determine the temperature of the sample and to reveal any interferences in the ultraviolet-visible measurement. This method is applied to the measurement of absorption cross sections of 200¿20 K nitrogen dioxide in the 370- to 497-nm region, at resolutions of 2 and 0.5 cm-1. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996