A viewer in Jacksonville discovered a NOAA radiosonde caught in a tree in her front yard this past spring.
It was the small instrument package that fell back to the earth after popping from a weather balloon that may have reached up to 20 miles in the sky.
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Captured another @NWSAtlanta balloon burst tonight. This one occurred NE of Hogansville at 114,390 feet. I included a slo-mo and a balloon fragmentation during the free fall. The upper air pattern is favorable for seeing the bursts from #FDRStatePark for the next several days. pic.twitter.com/s8Id9aTRwe
— Michael Riffle (@HarrisCountySky) June 14, 2022
After the discovery, Jaime Frascello mailed the instrument package, called a radiosonde, back to NOAA’s National Weather Service which is what everyone should do if they come across a rare find. The $200 instruments are fixed and reused, saving the government money.
Every day over 180 weather balloons are launched across the United States to collect data that feed forecast models.
The flight can last about 2 hours before climbing to up towards 100,000ft. At these heights the balloon more than doubles in size expanding out to 20 feet in diameter when it finally pops due to thin air aloft.
Twice daily weather balloons are launched from Jacksonville International Airport and most of these drift eastward over the ocean before rupturing around 125 miles away.
The ones that are found locally likely came from launches west of Jacksonville due to the predominant flow of the jet stream.
The weather balloons report back air pressure, temperature and relative humidity from the Earth’s surface to well above commercial air traffic.
Each radiosonde contains a mailing bag and instructions on what to do if you find one. About 20% of the 75,000 radiosondes sent up each year in the US are found and returned.