Weather Balloon Launch Interrupted By Curious Cow That Eats Radiosonde

A routine weather balloon launch from a rural NWS upper-air observation station was cancelled Tuesday when a cow that had breached the station's perimeter fence consumed the radiosonde instrument package before the balloon could be inflated. Observer Marcus Sounding, 29, was preparing the 00Z launch — one of two daily upper-air observations conducted simultaneously at stations worldwide — when a Holstein dairy cow entered the launch area through a gap in the fence and ate the radiosonde. "I had the radiosonde on the ground next to the balloon, doing the pre-flight calibration," Sounding recounted. "I turned to check the hydrogen regulator and heard a crunching sound. The cow had the instrument in its mouth. The antenna was hanging out like a piece of straw." The radiosonde, a disposable instrument package approximately the size of a small shoebox, measures temperature, humidity, and pressure as it ascends through the atmosphere, transmitting data via radio. It costs approximately $200 and is not designed for bovine digestion. "I tried to retrieve it," Sounding continued. "The cow was not cooperative. She chewed for about thirty seconds and swallowed. Two hundred dollars of atmospheric science, consumed by a cow. I had to report a missing observation to the national database with the reason code 'equipment consumed by livestock.'" The NWS upper-air program office confirmed that "equipment consumed by livestock" is not a standard reason code but has been used three times in the past decade, all at rural stations. A backup radiosonde was launched forty-five minutes late. The cow was returned to the neighboring dairy farm, where the farmer expressed neither surprise nor concern. "She eats everything," the farmer said. "Last month she ate a garden hose. The radiosonde is probably the most expensive thing she's eaten, though." The observation station has requested funding for fence repair. The request is pending.