Frequently asked questions
Weather balloons, also known as sounding or meteorological balloons, are used in a variety of capacities by the scientific community to gain valuable information about the atmosphere. Weather balloons are a vital part of daily weather forecasting, storm prediction and upper atmosphere wind measurement.
Absolutely. Weather balloons are a critical component of global life safety networks. Weather balloons are widely recognized as a backbone product and absolutely necessary to maintain the larger architecture of weather modelling and forecasting. Every weather monitoring satellite in orbit relies on radiosonde data carried by Kaymont balloons for verification of their measurements. Only two technologies currently reach 30km or 100,000ft consistently- rockets and weather balloons. The atmospheric measurements taken at these altitudes are necessary to maintain our ability to forecast weather and better understand our atmosphere. Although a simple technology, our weather balloons are the result of decades of research, development, testing and feedback and have set the global standard for performance, safety and reliability. Weather balloons are an extremely efficient, low cost and renewable resource that will continue to be a critically important backbone of life safety networks around the world.
Kaymont balloons have been trusted by the National Weather Service, NASA, all branches of the US Military, educators and enthusiasts for over 40 years.
To determine the right balloon for your flight goals, you'll need to know your payload weight, target altitude and lifting gas of choice. Balloons should be launched with a target ascent rate of 5m/s for optimal performance. To determine the right balloon size for your mission objectives, visit the PREDICT tab and scroll through balloon options in the Burst Calculator. Our team at Kaymont is also available to chat on the phone or by email to make a recommendation. Please visit the CONTACT tab to send us a message or call us at (631) 951-9100.
All of our weather balloons are 100% biodegradable natural latex. Unlike metallic nylon or neoprene (party) balloons, our balloons completely biodegrade within 24-36 months in all conditions. Within 24 months, our balloons are completely homogenous with soil. Our balloons are not made with any preservatives, harmful chemicals, petroleum, neoprene, plastic or metal, drastically reducing their footprint on the land and sea. Additionally, our balloons are manufactured with such precision that a proper burst will always result in a balloon shattering. The hundreds of tiny latex pieces will fall back to Earth and begin degrading instantly, enhanced by the additional surface area of hundreds of small pieces. Unlike party balloons which may tear along a seam and come back down to land whole, our balloons will always be completely unrecognizable once their fragments return to the ground. We take our impact on the environment seriously, and although our balloons do take a little time to completely biodegrade, they are hundreds to thousands times faster than any other high altitude balloons. We are proud that over the course of 40 years of soundings, our balloons have always experienced a revolving-door 24-36 month biodegradation period, and a negligible long term effect on the environment.
No. Artificial Intelligence is on the path to improve historical weather data pattern recognition, increase the frequency and accuracy of daily weather and storm prediction models, and streamline verification of data collected from multiple measurement systems. However, AI extrapolations are not a replacement for raw data measurement, especially as our climate shifts away from historical precedents. Current natural latex weather balloon soundings are a safe and efficient solution to gather upper atmospheric data with an extraordinary return on investment. Did you know the average US taxpayer spends about 5 cents a year to support NOAA's entire upper air program? In return, Americans enjoy the best weather forecasts in the world, and the data is always publicly available. For less than 1.8 additional cents per US taxpayer per year, a third daily NWS sounding is conservatively estimated to improve the resolution of our forecasts by 35%. AI systems promise to disrupt many industries, but should not be considered an alternative to foundational systems and backbone technologies critical to weather forecasting. A comprehensive approach including reliable, safe, renewable atmospheric data collection methods and cutting edge AI models to interpret and present that data may offer an opportunity for substantial forecast improvement.
No.
Could be either. Weather balloons in flight can travel at great speeds due to high winds at altitude, and their payloads may be reflective or have lights on them. Weather balloons can "disappear" and "reappear" behind clouds that are tough to see from the ground. Weather balloons can appear spherical, or slightly oblong due to their rate of lift. Weather balloons, when properly inflated and launched, will rise at a steady rate to their burst altitude, and their payloads will return to the ground via parachute. As of November, 2025, 51.1% of UAP Reported Sightings were officially determined to be balloons of some kind according to AARO.
Our natural latex weather balloons do not have the capability to demonstrate trans-medium travel, instantaneous acceleration, or hypersonic speed.