Every once in a while it'll happen. Someone out there will stumble upon a bright orange parachute with a cardboard box attached to it by lots of string.On Monday, nine year old Devin Browder found such an object while walking in Hillsville on Hayfield Road. What he found was a weather balloon, which was launched by the National Weather Service. There are a few places this could've come from, including Morristown, TN, Charleston, WV, or likely Blacksburg. These weather instruments (called radiosondes) measure important weather aloft. Meteorologists gain valuable information like temperature, humidity, pressure and the wind profile of the atmosphere.
Weather balloons were first used by the U.S. Weather Bureau in 1936. They are launched twice daily from roughly 90 weather service offices around the country. The balloons are filled with Helium, and while they are big before the launch (around six feet in diameter) they get about as large as a two story house once the Helium interacts with cold air around 20 miles above the earth. Temperatures there are around -130 degrees Fahrenheit! Each radiosonde costs the government around $200 - and meteorologists at the NWS office in Blacksburg tell me they only get back around 2% - 4% of the balloons they launch every year. Devin didn't tell me if he plans on returning his balloon or not, but I bet it makes it to a few "show-and-tells" at his school this year. Thanks for sending us your photo Devin! --Jay
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