The National Weather Service launches two weather balloons each day, separated by 12 hours. I took these photos at 6 a.m. this morning. The next launch is presumably at 6 p.m. (these times are probably different if the time is CST rather than CDT).
If you ever come across a weather balloon on the ground when you’re out walking, follow the instructions to send it back to the National Weather Service, since they reuse some of the equipment. As this “kidscorner” article on the National Weather Service’s website states, “The balloon flights last for around 2 hours, can drift as far as 125 miles away, and rise up to over 100,000 ft. (about 20 miles) in the atmosphere!”
These photos were taken at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in the Twin Cities/Chanhassen, Minnesota.





