PHELAN, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> Multiple commuters notices at least 4 mysterious, white balloons in the sky above the Cajon Pass and in the Phelan area Saturday morning.
What we know these weather/research balloons were launch from the Mormon Rocks area Saturday morning around 8:30am on August 1, 2026.
At this time is unknown who owns the balloons.
The balloons flew over 40,000 feet on the air over the city of Adelanto and landed in Helendale off of National Trails Highway and Bonanza Trail around 11:15am.
How many weather balloons are there?
On any given day, nearly 1,800 weather balloons are launched across the world, including 92 here in the U.S. and U.S. territories, according to the National Weather Service.
Each flight lasts around two hours, during which a balloon drifts up to 125 miles and can reach an altitude of 100,000 feet. However, NWS Public Affairs Director Susan Buchanan says 125 miles is unusual.
“While weather balloons can drift as far as 180 miles, they typically travel only 30-35 miles downwind from their launch site,” Buchanan said.
How are weather balloons useful?
According to the NWS, weather balloons are a key tool in forecasting.
Each weather balloon has a device about the size of a shoebox attached to it called a radiosonde. The radiosonde measures pressure, temperature and relative humidity during its flight. The radiosonde sends data down to monitoring stations every one to two seconds, which also allows researchers to track wind speed and the balloon’s location.
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