Crowd Gathers to Watch COD Meteorology Weather Balloon Launch

Approximately 150 people gathered in the Street Scene of College of DuPage's Homeland Security Education Center on the College's Glen Ellyn campus to watch the launch of a meteorological weather balloon.

Click here to view photos from this event.

Kicking off the COD Meteorology program's 29th storm chasing season, the launch was attended by COD students, faculty and staff, as well as community members, meteorological industry experts, and past and current participants in the COD storm-chasing program.

The balloon, which travelled approximately 67,000 feet into the atmosphere before popping, allowed meteorology students and faculty to track a variety of atmospheric conditions, including humidity, temperature, wind speed and direction, dew point, barometric pressure and atmospheric density, as well as trajectory data such as latitude, longitude, altitude and flight path. Attendees were able to view the data and watch the flight path in real-time via Google Maps and see a three-dimensional rendering of the flight path and altitude trajectory. In addition to the launch, the event also included a presentation on the Meteorology program, the importance of weather balloons for daily weather forecasting and information on the College's storm chasing trips and equipment.

Another weather balloon launch is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the College's second annual STEM-CON, a free interactive fair celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

For more information about the College's Meteorology program, its storm chasing opportunities and Next Generation Weather Lab, please click here.