ELKHART — Fourth-grade students from Concord Ox Bow, East Side, West Side and South Side elementary schools cheered as their two weather balloons launched into a bright blue sky on Friday. “I ...

In a demonstration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, weather researchers showed WISN 12 News how it works. "The balloon is launched from the ground and rises up into the atmosphere, can rise ...

Weather balloon gaps could impact forecast accuracy by: Alex Libby Posted: Apr 30, 2025 / 05:25 PM CDT Updated: Apr 30, 2025 / 05:54 PM CDT ...

In late March, the National Weather Service announced it would be temporarily reducing the number of weather balloon launches from 11 stations, including Grand Junction, as the federal agency grapples ...

What the loss of weather balloons means for Omaha — and beyond — as storm season approaches Marjie Ducey Mar 31, 2025 Updated May 8, 2025 0 Loaded 0% - ...

A National Weather Service weather balloon sits ready for launch in the Upper Air Inflation Building at the National Weather Service, April 27, 2006, in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Chris Greenberg, File) ...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A behind-the-scenes tool in weather forecasting is quietly being scaled back as the U.S. government is cutting back on weather balloon launches.

The service announced on March 20 that it would temporarily suspend weather balloon launches in Omaha, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota, “due to a lack of” weather forecast office staffing.

The normally twice-daily launches of weather balloons in about 100 locations provide information that forecasters and computer models use to figure out what the weather will be and how dangerous ...

It takes 90 minutes to an hour to fill a weather balloon with helium or hydrogen, get it fitted with a sensor, then ready it for launch making sure the radiosonde doesn't drag on the ground, said ...