Rileys find downed NWS weather balloon in Lyeffion community

Stephen Riley of Lyeffion with weather balloon.

When sharp-eyed, 14-year-old Stone Riley first saw the strange, orange-colored object, he first thought it was a Halloween balloon, but when his father, Stephen Riley, checked out the object for himself almost a week later, he found something that he didn’t expect – a downed National Weather Service weather balloon.

Stone, a student at Sparta Academy, first saw the weather balloon on Sun., Dec. 1, but because of its orange color, he thought it was a Halloween balloon or some type of windblown Halloween decoration, his father, Stephen, told The Courant on Tuesday afternoon. The object was in the woods, about 25 to 30 yards off the road, near where the Riley family lives in the Lyeffion community, Stephen said.

Six days later, at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Stephen got out of his vehicle, walked into the woods, inspected the object and was surprised by what he found.

“The orange parachute was up in the trees, and the lines from the chute draped down and looped into some vines,” he said. “The capsule itself was sitting on the ground, upright, just like someone had set it down.”

According to information printed on the side of the Styrofoam-encased capsule, the weather balloon was released from the National Weather Service office in Flowood, Miss. in late November.

One side of the capsule, which was manufactured by Lockheed Martin, carried the following paragraph of information - “Harmless Weather Instrument: This is a radiosonde, a balloon-borne instrument used by the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) to obtain weather data aloft for weather forecasts and research. It is not dangerous. Please use the attached mailing pouch for return to the NOAA/NWS. Postage is prepaid. Your assistance will allow the instrument to be used again.”

The self-addressed, prepaid mailing bag attached to the capsule was addressed to the Radiosonde Reconditioning Group in Kansas City, Mo., and Stephen said he planned to mail the capsule back on Tuesday.

While the capsule is considered harmless, its orange parachute carried a tag that read, “WARNING. If balloon appears to be inflated !! DO NOT TOUCH BALLOON !! Balloon may contain a flammable gas. It may explode if not handled properly. Call your local law enforcement office or fire station for disposal assistance.”

The Courant contacted the National Weather Service Office in Flowood, Miss. on Tuesday afternoon and meteorologists there said they release two weather balloons from their office at the same time every day. Those balloons measure temperature, dew point, wind conditions and relative humidity. Those measurements are radioed back to their office, where they’re used by meteorologists to create forecasts.

Riley’s find isn’t the first time that a Conecuh County resident has found a weather balloon. In September 1957, W.R. Diamond of Owassa found a weather balloon one mile east of the Wilcox community. That balloon was released from the Montgomery Weather Station on Aug. 23, 1957.

As chance would have it, the Riley and Diamond families are close friends and have known each other for years.

“Little Alvin and I are good friends,” Stephen said. “And his dad and mine worked together and good friends.”