MIDDLESBORO — With all the sporadic weather conditions affecting the region recently, many people may wonder how meteorologists collect data on the ever-changing environment in order to efficiently warn the public about potentially hazardous conditions. While on a recent four wheeling excursion with his family, Travis Hoskins and his wife Adrienne came upon something that offered insight into that very question.

“We were four wheeler riding up near Hignight Mountain in Bell County when I saw something hanging from a tree, about four feet off the ground,” Hoskins recalled. “At first, I thought it was a coyote trap and I wasn’t going to get near it. Then my father-in-law told me it was probably a weather balloon, so I went over and had a look.”

Hoskins related that the object was a Styrofoam box attached to a deflated red balloon, which was stretched around the limbs of a thorn tree about ten or fifteen feet in the air. Hoskins cut the box down and upon examining it realized it was a Harmless Weather Instrument released by the National Weather Service from their Nashville Tennessee location. The outside of the box had a paragraph explaining that the box contained a Radiosonde, which is a balloon borne instrument used by the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) to obtain weather data for weather forecasts and research. It went on to explain that the instrument was not dangerous and that it needed to be returned in the enclosed prepaid mailing pouch to ensure that the instrument could be used in the future.

“I didn’t really know a lot about weather balloons and I figure most people don’t either,” Hoskins stated. “I thought it would be nice to share it with people so they might know more about it too.”

Weather balloons, or high altitude balloons, carry a measuring device into the air to measure atmospheric conditions such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity. Weather balloons are launched around the world for observations used to diagnose current conditions that are then delivered to the public by human forecasters. The measuring device is what Hoskins and his wife found.

Travis and his wife Adrienne plan to send the instrument back as soon as possible. However, their willingness to share their discovery helps provide some understanding as to how information about the weather is gathered and related to the public.

Renee Daniels is a correspondent for the Middlesboro Daily News. Reach her via e-mail at editor@middlesborodailynews.com.