Weather balloon Weather balloon A weather or sounding balloon is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments aloft 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
Weather warning [increasing] significantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain"" and a warning as ""hazardous weather or hydrologic event [that] is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring"" . Additionally, the NWS breaks down weather warnings and watches based upon the specific type of hazardous weather. These warnings and watches include, but are not limited to, flooding, severe local storms, tropical cyclones, and winter storms. In Canada, governmental weather warnings and watches are issued by the Environment Canada. Non-governmental alerts, not watches or warnings, such as a "rotation detected" or "tornado reported" are issued by