Jared Brister was scouting for deer sign in an Amite County cutover recently when a bright orange piece of fabric caught his eye.
It wasn’t a discarded hunting vest or a fallen kite. Closer look showed it was a plastic parachute attached to long white string. From a fancy piece of fireworks, perhaps?
Then Brister picked it up and saw the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration emblem on a wallet-sized white plastic rectangle. That’s when he realized: “It’s a NOAA weather monitoring device,” Brister said.
Writing on the device indicated it had been released Nov. 28, 2016, at Lake Charles, La. An attached tube contained a prepaid envelope addressed to a NOAA office in Missouri.
Brister got on the internet and researched the device, known as a radiosonde.
He learned it’s initially attached to a helium balloon. As it rises, sensors transmit information on air pressure, temperature, relative humidity and GPS position.
According to an NOAA fact sheet, “A typical NWS ‘weather balloon’ sounding can last in excess of two hours. In that time, the radiosonde can ascend to an altitude exceeding 35 km (about 115,000 feet) and drift more than 300 km (about 180 miles) from the release point. ...
“If the radiosonde enters a strong jet stream it can travel at speeds exceeding 400 km/hr (250 mph). When released, the balloon is about 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) in diameter and gradually expands in size as it rises owing to the decrease in air pressure. When the balloon reaches a diameter of 6 to 8 meters (20 to 25 feet) in diameter, it bursts. A small, orange-colored parachute slows the descent of the radiosonde, minimizing the danger to lives and property.”
This particular balloon drifted from Lake Charles to Amite County, roughly 200 miles away, before landing in an East Fork cutover. Brister planned to mail this one in, and “they’ll be able to download all the information off it and be able to use that same instrument again,” he said.
The information is used for weather forecasts, climate research and pollution monitoring, among other purposes.
Radiosondes have been used since the 1930s and are flown worldwide.
“I don’t know anybody who’s ever found one,” said Brister.
