What to do if you find a Radiosonde

Radiosondes are atmospheric sensors carried into the sky by weather balloons.  A radiosonde is a single-use device that uses a radio transitter to send data back to the ground while it is in flight.

Once the radiosonde reaches its maximum altitude, the balloon bursts and the sonde falls back to the ground.  A parachute is typically used to control the descent.  We sincerely regret the resulting trash – but this is the only way to gather detailed information for research and weather forecasting.  We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.

If you find a radiosonde, you may dispose of the entire flight train (radiosonde, parachute, balloon) without any special precautions.  The radiosonde contains no hazardous substances and is lead-free.  You do not need to contact InterMet.

If you are curious about where they sonde came from, please send us an e-mail with the serial number and we might be able to help identify it.