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>>Heavy rains, high winds and lightning can make monsoon season dangerous and unpredictable.
Meteorologists in SRP's water resource operations work with the National Weather Service to
launch a special type of balloon called a radiosonde every day from the middle of June
until the end of September
to help them better predict the severity of these storms.
Once the balloon starts rising through the atmosphere it expands to about 9ft in diameter.
While it's rising, the radiosonde sends back information about weather conditions as high
as 15 miles above ground.
That information goes directly to a computer at SRP where it's analyzed and shared with
the weather community.
>>WOODALL: They actually help us out with diagnosing what's going on in the mid and
upper levels of the atmosphere. It can hopefully help us see smaller scale
features, smaller scale ingredients, that can sometimes make the difference between
an active monsoon day and one that's maybe not so busy.
>>The balloon is launched by 5:00 in the morning.
When it reaches about 65,000 ft, the decreasing pressure in the atmosphere causes it to burst.
The next morning another balloon is launched.
Meteorologists receive the data and analyze it along with information from weather satellites,
radar stations and observers.
Thanks to the radiosonde balloon, the forecast has a higher degree of accuracy which is critical
during monsoon season.
>>SRP monitors monsoon storms closely and wants you to remain safe during these unpredictable
storms.
For more on monsoon safety visit srpnet.com/storms