With the threat of a catastrophically huge storm looming (Sandy) the
National Weather Service is doing all it can to come up with the most
accurate forecast possible, including launching extra weather balloons
through the lower 48 states. The Quad Cities local office is now
launching 4 weather balloons per day instead of the normal 2. These
instruments collect data such as temperature, humidity, wind speed etc
all the way up to about 90,000 feet in the atmosphere! The data
collected is sent by a radio signal back to the office, and eventually
ends up being digested and used in many ways to help with the forecast.
In the QC, meteorologists will be sending up the extra balloons through
Monday morning while folks in the East and South will continue the
extra balloons through Tuesday, when Sandy is expected to make landfall
somewhere along the East Coast! Here are some pics from today's launch
around lunchtime!
See the doppler radar in this shot!
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