© 2026 WGLT
A public service of Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Weather Balloon Found In Bloomington

Bloomington Police Dept.

Bloomington Police were sent to Elmwood Road Tuesday to investigate a UFO. That is, an unidentified fallen object. They didn't find any supernatural beings, but instead a weather balloon from the National Weather Service that was hanging in a tree.

Turns out, the weather balloon was sent from Manon, Massachusetts last November. The balloon will be returned to the National Weather Service. So what was the weather balloon doing here in Bloomington? The balloons are used to measure and transmit profiles of air pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. They can reach about 20 miles high in the sky. Eventually though, they pop and fall to the ground.

Weather balloons travel more than 200 miles.