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How to Track Weather Balloons

Weather balloons are employed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research to track weather patterns, storms and atmospheric conditions. For weather followers, the center allows tracking via an online feed with many of its balloons. Meteorologist Wendell Bechtold of the National Weather Service reports there are 70 different launching and tracking locations throughout the United States where these balloons are deployed for field use. Log onto the NCAR website to track weather balloons throughout the country.

Things You'll Need

Internet connected computer

Instructions

- 1
  Open your Internet browser and direct it to the National Center for Atmospheric Research website (see Resources).
- 2
  Click on the EOL link from the main Web page. EOL stands for Earth Observatory Laboratory. Go to the "Data Services" Menu header and click to bring down the drop-down menu.
- 3
  Select "Download Software to Access Data" option and follow the onscreen prompts for your system. Download the software and open it. You may need to restart your computer upon downloading to activate the software.
- 4
  Follow the software prompts to select the observation and tracking data you wish to receive.

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