Editing Weather balloon (section)

{{Short description|High-altitude balloon to which meteorological instruments are attached}}{{hatnote group|{{redirect-distinguish|Sounding balloon|observation balloon}}{{about|atmospheric and meteorological sounding balloons|balloon space probes|List of Solar System probes}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

[[File:Transosonde.png|thumb|Transosonde ready for release]]
[[File:Picture taken at aprox. 100,000 feet above Oregon by Justin Hamel and Chris Thompson.jpg|thumb|Picture taken at approximately 30 km above [[Oregon]] using a 1,500 gram weather balloon]]
[[Image:nssl0020.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rawinsonde]] weather balloon just after launch. Notice a parachute in the center of the string and a small instrument box at the end. After release it measures many parameters. These include temperature, [[relative humidity]], pressure, and wind speed and wind direction. This information is transmitted back to surface observers.]]

A '''weather balloon''', also known as a '''sounding balloon''', is a [[balloon]] (specifically a type of [[high-altitude balloon]]) that carries instruments to the stratosphere to send back information on [[atmospheric pressure]], [[temperature]], [[humidity]] and [[wind speed]] by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a [[radiosonde]]. To obtain [[wind]] data, they can be tracked by [[radar]], radio [[direction finding]], or navigation systems (such as the satellite-based [[Global Positioning System]], GPS).  Balloons meant to stay at a constant altitude for long periods of time are known as ''transosondes''.  Weather balloons that do not carry an instrument pack are used to determine upper-level winds and the height of cloud layers.  For such balloons, a [[theodolite]] or [[total station]] is used to track the balloon's [[azimuth]] and elevation, which are then converted to estimated wind speed and direction and/or cloud height, as applicable.

Weather balloons are launched around the world for observations used to diagnose current conditions as well as by human forecasters and [[numerical weather prediction|computer models]] for [[weather forecasting]]. Between 900 and 1,300 locations around the globe do routine releases, two or four times daily.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=WOUK>{{Cite web|title=Weather Facts: Radiosonde &#124; weatheronline.co.uk|url=https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Radiosonde.htm|access-date=2023-04-06|website=www.weatheronline.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=WMO>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-01|title=Observations - Data - Modelling|url=https://public-old.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/what-we-do/observations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218181556/https://public-old.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/what-we-do/observations|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 December 2023|access-date=2023-04-06|website=public.wmo.int|language=en}}</ref><ref name=WeatherSTEM>{{Cite web|last=WeatherSTEM|title=Upper-Air Observations|url=https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/120/11.html|access-date=2023-04-06|website=WeatherSTEM|language=en}}</ref>