Weather Balloon Pilot Program OK’d, To Launch From Chatham Airport

CHATHAM – Weather balloons will soon be flying in the skies above town once again.

 A pilot program will see a private contractor launching weather balloons from Chatham Airport as soon as next month. The company, Denver-based Urban Sky, Inc., provides upper-atmosphere weather data to the National Weather Service and is contracting with the airport commission for an initial 45-day test period.

 It’s been five years since the National Weather Service (NWS) stopped launching weather balloons from the Chatham Upper Air Station on Morris Island. The building from which the program had operated since 1970 was demolished in April 2021 due to encroaching erosion at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge property.

 Airport and finance committee officials were close to reaching an agreement with the NWS to relocate the operation to the former fishermen’s storage area east of runway 24 last year when the Trump administration stopped funding for new facilities.

 Urban Sky reached out to airport manager Tim Howard recently, according to commission chair Huntley Harrison. In earlier discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency indicated that weather balloon launching from the former fishermen’s storage area was compatible with the airport and did not pose a safety problem, Harrison said; a notice to pilots would have to be issued to warn that the activity is taking place.

 Weather balloon launching at the airport would essentially be the same as the previous operation on Morris Island. Urban Sky will hire three contractors who would launch the balloons twice a day, in the early morning and evening (possibly more often during stormy weather), using equipment stored in a shipping container at the approximately one-acre former fishermen’s storage area. A radiosonde attached to the balloon transmits weather data as it ascends up to 115,000 feet into the atmosphere. The data is aggregated with information collected from other weather balloons and used to develop weather forecasts. 

 According to a memo from Harrison and Daniel, Urban Sky will pay $1,500 for use of the airport property for 45 days to determine if the operation is viable. The funds would be deposited into the airport’s revolving fund. 

 Should the pilot program prove successful, Harrison said the land use agreement will be rolled over for a duration of at least one year at $1,000 a month. At the conclusion of that period, discussions would be held about its continuation.

 Loss of the Chatham data has created a gap in NWS information gathering, Harrison said.

 “I think it’s extremely helpful to the National Weather Service because of where we’re located on the Cape,” Harrison said of the information collected by weather balloons launched here. “The next balloon launching station, if it’s still open, is up in Maine.”

 According to Harrison and Daniel’s memo, Urban Sky is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through its National Mesonet Program, and a company called Synoptic Data Corporation to evaluate if privately operated balloon launching sites can supplement the 92 upper air stations in the continental United States. Urban Sky currently has operations in Colorado, Wyoming, Virginia and Florida.

 “This pilot program represents an opportunity for Chatham to demonstrate upper air capability using a modern operational model that does not require National Weather Service staffing or permanent federal facilities,” the memo reads. “A successful demonstration could potentially position [Chatham Airport] favorably should funding become available for a permanent National Weather Service Station.”

 “I would definitely pursue that down the road,” Harrison said of the possibility of establishing a permanent weather balloon launching facility at the airport. 

 “If everything goes according to plan, Urban Sky should start to mobilize very soon,” Harrison said in an email last week. “I'm hoping for launches to start in early May.”

Both the airport commission and select board unanimously supported the license agreement.